The "Punishment" of Paris Hilton

Just when you thought we were rid of Paris Hilton for a while, she's back.

In an amazing display of the power of money and celebrity, Ms Hilton was released from jail yesterday to complete her sentence under house arrest in the bleak and forbidding fortress of her home in the Hollywood Hills. Granted, her sentence was increased from 23 to 40 days, but consider some of the math involved here: she was credited with five days in jail (apparently getting credit for a full day for the 15 minutes she was at the jail on the day she turned herself in, and for the few minutes she was there the day she was released to house arrest). How many other non-celebrities would get a deal like that?

And consider the rationale for her release: medical reasons! Apparently she refused to eat the jail food that's good enough for lesser inmates, and was in danger of starving to death. Give me a break.

I'm a person, as you regular readers know, who honors and respects the rule of law. And it makes me sick when the law is flouted and abused by those with the money or social standing to get away with it. O.J. Simpson got away with murder; Paris Hilton is getting away with being a spoiled scofflaw. What message about the fairness and impartiality of the law does this send to the average citizen?

I have nothing in particular against Paris Hilton, other than she's a spoiled and talentless person taking up space and breathing air that might be better used by the next Mother Teresa or Margaret Thatcher. In a statement released through her lawyers (of course), Ms Hilton sobs that she has learned her brutal lesson. I doubt it. The judge who originally sentenced her to jail, and was not consulted in the decision to release her, has ordered her to appear in court later today to determine if she should be returned to jail.

I think you know how I vote.

Have a good day. Obey the law...it's what separates us from the animals.

More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo