Captain's Quarters -

Hmm, I'm reminded of Robert Heinlein's diatribe in 'Starship Troopers' about the nonexistence of Juvenile Delinquents, but the over abundance of Adult Delinquents.

My sentiments exactly CE... Growing up is a bitch sometimes. We all are responsible for our own actions; this is an intricate part of the growing process. Blaming others is a mechanism of self pity, a sprint from the truth. Accepting blame, accepting the consequences for the action, an honest look at "my side of the street" is what this young woman should be hearing from her parents...

The media coverage this woman gets is sickening. Apparently, this woman has a contract with Murdoch; which would explain why Fox has dedicated so much of their air time to this soap opera. With so much going on around the world these days, 24/7 coverage of Paris Hilton is an indicator of what's wrong with our media (including Fox)...

I got busted (guilty I was) in 1983 for drunk driving. Painful it was! I was 29 years old; it cost me all of the money I had and then some. My insurance went up dramatically for seven years. I then had to answer that damn question "have you ever been" with a "yes"... Painful! Looking back, it was the best thing that could have happened to me. I haven't had a drink since that arrest, which is why I'm still married to my lovely wife of 27 years. That DUI, as painfull as it was, changed my life for the good in so many ways, and allowed for me to finally grow up and become responsible for my own behavior without running to my parents every time something went wrong. A few years later (1985), I lost my best friend so a drunk driver. Troy was sitting at a signal, waiting to turn left when a drunk driver ran the signal at 80 mph and killed him instantly. My wife told me "but for the grace of God, you could have been that driver." Powerful reality...

Meanwhile, Lolita Baldor writes on Breitbart of Pace's dismissal, "But Gates said that after consulting with senators in both parties, he had concluded that "the focus of his [Pace]conformation process would have been on the past and not on the future."

CONFIRMATION : CONFORMATION

Thank you, Ms. Baldor, for your lucid candor.

Twenty-six years old? Twenty-six years old!! Throw away the God-damned key!

Yep, she is a spoiled 13 year old in a woman's body, who's Idea of a good time is snorting coke, sucking you know what and showing her skinny bod to anyone who wants to look (and even those that don't).

She is too stupid to know how to act to get herself ejected from jail. Now she has been re-incarcerated, stuck into a medical holding cell, where she can be pampered by the medical staff and "kept from doing harm to herself". How did that happen?

Her high priced lawyers tutored her on that behaviour, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was discovered that money had passed hands somewhere in this chain of incredible incidents.

I have known several people that have been in trouble with the law for DWI (DUI), the punishment has ranged from fines, loss of lisense to jail time, fines, community service and probation fees.

Not a one of them was given a break by the courts or the county law officals. They were made to serve their time, pay their fines, walk the straight and narrow on probation and if they screwed up, got more jail time, lost their lisense for more years and paid more fines.

I guess their lawyers didn't tell them how to fake mental distress and get out of jail.

But wait...this is califoricate, where only rich folk, illegals, gays and liberals get a break.

Jeez, give me a break and let's put our attention on the important issues of these days. Things like the invasion of the USA, the establishment of terrorist camps here in the USA, a congress that needs to be fired and other issues that are important.

Not some rich slut who is a spoiled, uneducated, idiot.

Papa Ray
West Texas
USA

If her parents brought her up poorly, as they have, then now is the time for to her to receive the discipline she should have received as a child.

I think it will do Paris a lot of good to have a month in the solitude of jail to reflect on her shallow life. She needs Jesus.

I have a little trouble feeling sorrow for this person. We have a significant number of young people her age who are putting their lives on the line so this person can act the fool.
Every day a large number of people her age go to work, hunt for a job or deal with less than great conditions in their lives. They meet their adult responsibilities as best they can without resorting to this person's childish attics.
I do not care who is responsible for this person's act for she bears it for her own actions. Actually I see this punishment as a way to maybe just save her life and to maybe get her to grow up.
It is bad enough to for one to die for a cause, but it is dumb to die for actions that denote childish stupidity.

A couple of weeks in jail might actually be good for her. I do not say that with anger. She has never confronted reality.

This Judge Sauer is my new hero. Bush should nominate him for the next Supreme Court vacancy.

Those who argue that Hilton got a jail sentence while a "plain Jane" would have just received a fine should keep in mind that the maximum fine for Driving While License Suspended would really sting a "plain Jane," while it's probably less than this stupid, spoiled whore's cupcake budget for a single day.

There's a reason statutes impose things like point systems for minor offenses and allow for jail time; some people have enough money that they can just laugh off fines.

SS

The reaction to this should not have been about Paris Hilton. However you may feel about her, the dispute here was between the judge and the sheriff, and it was the sheriff who should have been called on the carpet; not Paris Hilton.

Deport her!

Reading between the lines, and looking at her out of control behavior, I think we will all learn that her medical condition is that she is bipolar. Even so, that doesn't get her off the hook with respect to prison. Prisons are full of people who are mentally and physically ill.

The only interesting part of the Paris Hilton story is what it says about the MSM, especially cable TV.

Does anyone have any remaining doubts that TV news is 100% about entertainment and 0% about substance? The fact that substance and entertainment sometimes interersect does not change the underlying structure.

I do not condone ANYTHING she has done, nor do I like her snotty attitude, etc. BUT. I think a lot of this is about society getting to see her get her "comeuppance." If one listened to the sheriff last night in regards to the overcrowding and typical time served by individuals being convicted of this same crime, it doesn't appear that she would be serving but 4-5 days. Yes, I'm aware that this sheriff supposedly received a contribution from her grandfather, but if his FACTS about the time served are correct regarding the general jail population he is responsible for, then she perhaps shouldn't be serving additional time.

If you follow Crittenden's way of thinking here, you are, in essence, just echoing the defense used for pulling a truck driver from cab in downtown L.A., beating him and kicking him, then throwing a concrete brick into his head and although not killing him, permanently causing him brain damage and then, defending your actions with the reasoning that Society's treatment of you made it justified.

I guess if it works once, it works again...right?

She wasn't convicted of drunk driving, she was convicted of reckless driving.

A woman who shot her husband to death got 3 years yesterday, but will serve 7 months in a mental institution because she was the victim of 'verbal abuse'.

And everybody is outraged that somebody rich only got 3 days for getting caught doing what every driver at 2am is doing anyway.

The topic person is a troll and dreg of society. As is, her squandered filthy life does not deserve mention.

Thank you, Keemo, for sharing your life's valuable experience, proving how we can grow better and stronger and happier, leaving debts paid and weakness behind in order to get on with a positive life.

On the international scene, the BBC writes that Pope Benedict XVI has told visiting US President George Bush that he would like to see a "regional and negotiated" solution to Mid-East conflicts. The Pope also raised the war in Iraq and the plight of Christians there and had an "exchange of opinions" on Latin America, the Vatican said.

Argh, the queezy feeling from Bush's lame attempt to trump the Pope, claiming to have peered into Putin's soul. That grossly heinous crap shoot exposed Bush's affinity for what he saw. Pulling the wool over America's eyes is a bad omen of things to come. At least we saw it coming, not being the fools that politicians would have.

Remember Patton's pertinent understanding of Russia and Communists. Why sell out America in exchange for the diplomatic free-bee quicksand to which our politicians succumb? The more things change, the more they stay the same. Most assuredly, Putin is no fool and a most cunning opponent. We pray our President be wise and loyal to our citizens and military as Bush is sworn to protect our nation.

We've been the best Mr. Nice Guy ever imaginable since Nixon's trip to China. Look what ensued: Clinton selling our national defense top secrets and our national parks system to China so that Americans can be literally poisoned by China while China refuses to honor trade agreements. It doesn't even take a Pope to recognize the catastrophic outcome from sell-out diplomacy against political hardballs. Considering the expense of recalls and poisons, whatever pennies were "saved" and whatever fortunes are being made by deals with Communists, the cost is everything; for in the long run American CITIZENS are displaced from the viable work force to the underpaid and underprivileged or unemployed. The insulated lobbyists, politicians, diplomats, and CEO's laugh all the way to their obscene bank account.

We productive citizens DO respond, demanding our politicians and officials to uphold their duty to US. We are many; we are as different as we are the same; we are legal-inclusive, we are united and law abiding CITIZENS with Constitutional Rights that apply to US.

Assimilation requires one language; that is an emperical fact, not a fascistic doctrine. This is the United States of America where English is the official language. Go to Capitol Hill, go to Court and observe proceedings. Legislation is not required to prove an emperical fact. Actually, if legislation were required to prove truth, we would literally be in hell.

O beautiful for patriot dream that sees beyond the years. Thine alabaster cities gleam, undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self control,
Thy liberty in law.

e pluribus unum
In God We Trust

The sheriff doesn't tell the judge how to run his court, and the judge should not be telling the sheriff how to run the jail. The sheriff is the boss of the jail, not the judge. It's the sheriff's call. Whether it's the right call or not, the matter is within the discretion of the sheriff.

Moreover, the LA jail system has been cited in federal court for its overcrowded conditions, which is all the more reason for the sheriff to exercise his discretion and authority to release nonviolent offenders early, even if they are rich brats.

You know, sanethinker has a great point - she does need Jesus.

Imagine the impact if Paris were to become a disciple of Christ, a suddenly serious, articulate woman. Like Lazarus from the dead, I'm telling you.

Come on, Paris, we know you read Captain's Quarters. And you know there's more to life.

Take the next step, kid.

I'm halfway convinced the "unspecified medical condition" is actually drug withdrawal, which may explain the hysterical behavior in court. If that's the case, detox in jail is the best scenario for her, although it won't keep her from going back to her old ways when she gets out. This is one wasted life, dressed up in fur and diamonds.

maybe she just realized she was going to miss the Sopranos finale...

as someone who has been taken out to the woodshed a number of times this will be the best thing that happens to her.

years later she will look back on it as a turning point. now if she kills herself, well, we still have nicole richie!

Wow, sounds like a bunch of medaling liberals with a touch of class envy.

Do you really want you and your family to serve 45 days in a urban county jail with harden criminals for the foundational crime of reckless driving? Gone more than 20 mph over the speed limit, run a red light or been a little too exhausted to drive lately? Yeah, that's a useful purpose of jail time.

When my 10 year-old granddaughter tells me that Paris Hilton is just a "spoiled rich kid", I realized I did a great job with my kids and the consequence of that is that they are doing a great job with theirs. Someone had better teach this little rich girl a thing or two before someone ends up getting killed because of her actions.

I find myself a bit torn on this one. On the one hand though a supporter of capital punishment, I would not normally advocate it for this particular crime..., but I could be talked into it (though in fairness we should start with her parents).

On the other hand it is hard not to feel sorry for someone who, if she doesn't turn things around, is on a path to make Anna Nicole Smith's look like a life well lived. Unlike the train wreck entertainers who must occasionaly get things together enough to earn a living, Paris is an heiress who doesn't actually have to DO anything in order to survive. Given the disaster her life is verging on becoming while she is yet young and pretty, it is unlikely that she'll live to see wrinkles and gray hair at this rate.

IMHO this jail sentence, now that she is going to be forced to serve it, might actually do her some good. She clearly needs SOMETHING to shock her into turning her life around. This might actually be the best thing that ever happened to her.

On the other hand it is hard not to feel sorry for someone who, if she doesn't turn things around, is on a path to make Anna Nicole Smith's look like a life well lived.

And here in a nutshell we have a clear enunciation of the 'problem' of today's society.

Why should we feel' sorry' for someone who has CHOSEN a path that is both self-destructive and other-contemptuous ? Especially when that someone is not a 'victim of society' who might be viewed with some 'pity' but rather one of societies 'darlings' who simply decided it was more 'amusing' to be a clueless skank than to actually DO anything.

Society would be better off it Paris and her ilk simply disappeared. They contribute nothing except cheap entertainment from watching their 'bored' stroll through a pampered life.

Feel Sorry for her ----- not in this lifetime. She could cry for an eternity in her childish pique and it would mean NOTHING to me. That a few tears and an irrational outburst should convince so many that she is 'sympathtic' is frankly just sad. Many people's plights ARE truly sympathetic. They are getting a bad deal.

Just not hers. Not yesterday. Not today. And not tomorrow. When she emerges from her 'torture' she will go right back to being the tramp-princess she has always been.

It IS a waste but the problem is that it is her voluntary choice. And the 'difficulties' she is having at the moment ---- DRUG WITHDRAWL.

Who is Paris Hilton?

See a satirical tongue-in-cheek graphic titled “The Big-Attitudes” which updates the Biblical Beatitudes to fit the Paris Hilton fiasco…here:

www.thoughttheater.com

Look: nobody in LA, according to every person who works in that judicial system, would have gotten ANY jail time for her offense. I am fight-to-the-last-dog-dies Liberal, and even I see that this ridiculous, absurd, pampered young woman has gotten a raw deal BECAUSE she is wealthy, vain, and empty.

I think you are an honest man Captain Ed, and I suspect you won't read this because it is so far down the line of comments, but if you do, or if any of the people who are delighting in this preposterous person's pain is, please allow me to ask: isn't it true that many of us disobey the posted speed rules, drive when we are tipsy, roll through stop signs, and do many other things that show that "we think the rules don't apply to us"?

I favor raising the wages of the lower and middle class workers so that work=reward, and I think this case is an example of a war against the rich. I truly do not understand why conservatives take such delight in punishing this pathetic person in a way that is UNIQUE in the jurisdiction she is in for similar offenses.

You know, sanethinker has a great point - she does need Jesus.

If she converted to Islam, she'd be sprung tomorrow.

I am fight-to-the-last-dog-dies Liberal, and even I see that this ridiculous, absurd, pampered young woman has gotten a raw deal BECAUSE she is wealthy, vain, and empty.

Well even if this is true, since injustice will always be with us in this less than perfect world, is it not refreshing at least that at last injustice finally landed on someone who is wealthy vain and empty . Why it's almost type-casting at play here.

She actually seems like a PERFECT target to me ,and if there is a 'finite' amount of injustice to be shared among us all, then Paris has finally done a service to society by 'taking one for the team'. Selfless soul that she is.

You go girl !!

if any of the people who are delighting in this preposterous person's pain is, please allow me to ask: isn't it true that many of us disobey the posted speed rules, drive when we are tipsy, roll through stop signs, and do many other things that show that "we think the rules don't apply to us"?

Hilton wasn't jailed when she was busted for drunk driving. Hilton wasn't even jailed the first time she ignored the suspension of her license and drove anyhow. It wasn't until she ignored her suspension a second time - excuse me, I mean was caught a second time that the judge apparently reasoned that she had no intention of obeying the suspension.

I think this could be an opportunity for Paris to change her ways... my son was wild and free as a youth and had his license suspended for DUI... he ponied up, served the sentence and became an outstanding citizen. He rarely drives at all now since he adjusted to being autoless for a year. As painful as it was, it did him good in the end.

Paris has received a rude awakening to the fact that her fame and wealth cannot insulate her from all of the realities of life. If her reaction to her current situation is hysteria (when it was completely within her control to avoid her present circumstance), what will she do when that first wrinkle shows up? Her punishment is well deserved, and long overdue (Thanks, Mom!).

My God! I agree with Anne Coulter! For a Liberal like me that is one of the Signs of The End Days. Coulter says that Ms. Hilton is being punished because she is famous.

There are two reasons people put forward for why this person is being punished MORE THAN ANYONE ELSE IN LA FOR A SIMILAR OFFENSE. That is the important fact here, so forgove the block caps, please.

Reason One that people cite is some variation of this insult: is "she is a rich skank". That seems like a transparently non-reason. I am a Catholic and remember well what the Father said to the good son in Jesus parable of the Prodigal Son: you get your reward every day by living a non-Prodigal, non-wasted life. I am paraphrasing, so I hope those of you who read this will accept that that was Jesus message: we get no credit because we live a life that contains less sins than others; our attempt to live as good and as meaningful a life as we can is not just its own reward, but what God expects from us.

You know what Hell would be to me? To be Paris Hilton when she is NOT facing prison. That empty-ness. that glamorous shallowness. I want no part of it and I don't think I am missing anything except Hell by not wanting it.

The second reason, that she thinks the rules do not apply to her, is a good reason for her being punished. But not punished more than anyone else who has committed similar violations. And every commentator, and attorney in the LA Justice System (and I know that should be accompanied by a "sic") says that there would NOT have been a sentence, and if there was she would have been released after serving 1/10 of her time because of court orders and overcrowding.

One last point, with all the running against the wealthy going on here this Judge has not just created sympathy in a liberal like me and a dyed-in-the-wool Conservative such as Crittendon and Coulter, he has created a backlash of sympathy for Paris Hilton and her vain and shallow family.

After watching the media feeding frenzy around the whole Paris Hilton circus yesterday, they did something I didn't think was possible: They made me start feeling sorry for Paris Hilton, and I sort of hate them for doing that.

They made me agree with people like Geraldo Rivera and Ann Coulter who said that she was being treated worse than the average person would have been in the same circumstances, given a much more severe sentence than anyone else would have, simply because the judge didn't like her and because he felt (accurately) that she was a spoiled, snotty celebrity. And then, with some members of the media and people like Al Sharpton gloating about Paris being sent back to jail...

Well, being envied and hated by a large portion of the American population shouldn't be a crime or an aggravating factor in sentencing for a comparatively minor crime. The judge clearly abused his sentencing authority to "make an example" out of Paris Hilton. And the whole unseemly spectacle of paparazzi throwing themselves in front of the police car taking Paris off to jail, the gleeful reaction of some of the legal analysts on Fox News, all just served to reinforce the feeling that justice was not being served.

I'm not saying that she didn't do anything wrong and that she didn't deserve punishment, but the judge gave her prison time in a situation where other people wouldn't have gotten it, simply because he didn't like her or her family. Justice is supposed to be dispensed impartially, and punishing people more harshly just because they are rich and famous is just as wrong as punishing them more leniently for the same reason. If the judge couldn't do that, he shouldn't have been on the case.

I personally think that a couple of hundred hours of community service would probably have been more appropriate. Make her pick up trash off the streets or ladle out food in a soup kitchen, something beneficial to others for once in her life. Instead, she's the ward of the citizens of Los Angeles, who are paying for her incarceration. She's being punished, but she's not doing anything helpful to society.

It was the whole gleeful tone of so many in the media that actually made me start to feel sorry for her. Schadenfreude is alway fun, but it's never attractive to watch. Yeah, she's an untalented ditz who had the luck to be born into the right family, not unlike Prince Charles, for instance. A lot of people are jealous of what they feel is her unearned wealth and fame, but their unseemly reaction to Paris' misfortune casts them in a poor light. It makes them look petty and spiteful.

I hate this comprison with O.J. Simpson. They shouldn't even be mentioned in the same breath. Simpson was and is a monster, a cold-bloded killer, who slaughtered two innocent people, deprived two young children of a mother, and essentially made his kids orphans. The worst crime Hilton can be accused of is driving drunk on a couple of occasions and ignoring the conditions of her convictions for these crimes. She's an idiot, a spoiled slut, and prima dona who thinks that the rules of the world don't apply to her, but she's no monster. So, I think she does deserve a bit of sympathy for her painful -- if belated -- and all too public discovery of the world and it rules.

Tom.... - She is not serving the jail time for the original offense (per se). She is serving time for violating her probaation.

She got 36 months probation and a suspended drivers license - and then got hit twice in a month for driving with the suspended license (what, she could find or hire a driver?). The jail time is totally appropriate here.

I'm a liberal. I rarely would ever agree with anything on this blog. But little Paris has united us.

Drunk driving? Boo hoo. We are in perfect agreement. Flog her!

Bender,
"It's the sheriff's call"

No, the sheriff's department does not determine what the punishment will be.

This is one of the best things that could happen to her. Hopefully it will knock some sense into her.

The exact opposite of Paris is Liesel Pritzker (she also uses the last name of ‘Matthews’ in movies). Her family owns the Hyatt chain of hotel. Not only is she worth more then Paris (like about $500 million), but she seems more down to earth. As muuch as you can be with that kind of money! She’s a talent actress (‘Little Princess’ nad Harrison Ford’s daughter in ‘Air Force One’) and from what I’ve read a student who has lived in the dorms at Columbia. Also, according to Wikipedia, attends the French Culinary Institute in NY. According to my wife its not easy to get into that place. Just shows that having loads of money doesn’t mean you’re going to become a spoiled b*tch like Paris.

Oh and Liesel is much more lovely as well. She looks…normal and not plastic!

DougF quoted me and responded:

"'On the other hand it is hard not to feel sorry for someone who, if she doesn't turn things around, is on a path to make Anna Nicole Smith's look like a life well lived.'

And here in a nutshell we have a clear enunciation of the 'problem' of today's society.

Why should we feel' sorry' for someone who has CHOSEN a path that is both self-destructive and other-contemptuous ?"

Because every wasted human life diminishes us all by the potential that is lost. I'm not saying it is anybody's fault but her own, though her parents presumably did a piss-poor job of raising her, nor that we should waste a lot of time worrying about her when there are obviously so many, many more out there that are far more deserving of our sympathy.

But for far too many people the alternative to feeling sorry for her is to delight in her pain and that is a pretty ugly thing to do, given that we are not dealing with a truly evil person but rather merely an immature, irresponsible ditz.

Delighting in her pain won't hurt her a bit, but it might hurt you.

Ed:

Sorry for the length of this, but I'm afraid this is going to take a couple of paragraphs to get the concept across fully.

For some reason, the plight of this rich heiress has generated a lot of sympathy in the blogosphere, and from some odd places.

Perhaps you'd better understand, were you to examine the reason.

The answer is both more complex to describe and simple to understand, than most people will admit. And, lest we forget this, it’s the same thing that drove the over-wrought coverage of Anna Nichole Smith.

I think it was Robert Frost, who poetically suggested that there is something in human nature that doesn’t like a wall. We, the common people, the less than millionaires, face many walls…. which in reality is what drives class warfare, from both sides.

We’re never going to be a rich. We’re never going to be young again. In all likelihood we’re never going to be as irresponsible as we were in our youth. However we are cosmetically altered, we won’t look that way again, much less be that young. The concept of running around in public in a short dress with no underwear, is a concept restricted for our wildest fantasies, as is the concept of multiple sexual partners in one life, much less one night. all responsible people sees that the kind of choices that Paris Hilton makes are self destructive.

Yet there is a certain side of us that refuses to let that kind of fantasy disappear . And so, when, despite our innate understanding of the self destructiveness of the situation, along comes somebody who has all of those qualities, we watch with a certain longing. What develops, is a relationship which is both distant and highly vicarious in nature.

Socially speaking it is unrealistic for us to expect to be able to pull some of the stunts she's been doing on a regular basis. Mostly, we can't afford it, but more power position in life forbids it from a practical perspective. So we live out that fantasy vicariously through her. Some of us, are unrealistic enough to feel cheated when she is restructured from the kind of behavior we have always dreamed of secretly.

That relationship however in my opinion makes it a greater import, not less, that the law gets enforced in her case. She has set herself up not only in the vicarious role I spoke of, but as an example of how the law will react to such.

Failure to react appropriately , will encourage more of the irresponsible behavior from John Everyman, that she's so flagrantly engaged in.

Please don't repeat that false statistic of 18000 deaths due to drunk driving. That number is generated from warped data.

Quoted from duiblog.com:

Years ago, the statistics kept on traffic fatalities included a category for “alcohol-caused” deaths. To justify such things as sobriety checkpoints, lowered blood alcohol levels and automatic at-the-scene DUI license suspensions, however, these statistics were subtly changed to “alcohol-related”. Not “caused”, but related. This meant that a perfectly sober driver who hit and killed an intoxicated pedestrian, for example, would be involved in an “alcohol-related” incident. Similarly, a sober driver who is struck by another sober driver carrying an intoxicated passenger chalked up another “alcohol-related” death. Further, if the officer believes the driver to be intoxicated but chemical tests show he is not, the death is nevertheless reported as “alcohol-related”. In fact, if the tests indicate the presence of any alcohol at all, say .02%, the fatality will be chalked up as “alcohol-related”.

So what are the real numbers? The Los Angeles Times also decided to investigate the validity of these statistics. In 2002, NHTSA’s figures claimed 18,000 deaths on the nation’s highways attributable to drunk driving. The Times found that only about 5,000 of these involved a drunk driver causing the death of a sober driver, passenger or pedestrian. (Research by other groups, such as “Responsibility in DUI Laws, Inc.”, indicate the figure is actually under 3,000.)

Look: nobody in LA, according to every person who works in that judicial system, would have gotten ANY jail time for her offense.

Her offense was violating probation. People in LA get jail time for that offense all the time.

Sorry, Captain, but when someone breaks probation, THAT IS THE CAUSE OF THE NEW SENTENCING, but the CHARGE it is brought on is the ORIGINAL CONVICTION for which probation was granted, IN LIEU OF THE SENTENCE.

Probation is merely REVOKED, and the ORIGINAL CONVICTION's primary sentence plus aggravating circumstances is the NEW SENTENCE.

Sometimes, violated probation alone can be worth one whole year of jail time.

For someone with multiple occassions of each, drunk , high, and very wreckless endangerment, as one who has seen a few too many senseless smashups, with resulting consequences - 45 DAYS is hardly FAIR.

I believe in the Japanese method of halting unacceptable behavior.

Start with 45 lashes, and do whatever it takes to prevent a recurrence of the behavior.

Of course, with Paris, you run the risk of her deciding this is a sexual thrill!

If the Japanese can stop idiots from spitting out chewing gum in elevators and on sidewalks, then whatever corporal punishment is required to make Miss Prissy or any other stupid jerk of ANY financial strata understand, YOU WILL NOT DO THIS HERE!

IF you do this here, WE WILL MAKE SURE THAT NOBODY SUFFERS THE CONSEQUENCES OF YOUR SELFISH AND INSUFFERABLE ACTIONS MORE THAN YOU DO!

THAT will do for a START!

But for far too many people the alternative to feeling sorry for her is to delight in her pain and that is a pretty ugly thing to do, given that we are not dealing with a truly evil person but rather merely an immature, irresponsible ditz.

Delighting in her pain won't hurt her a bit, but it might hurt you.

Posted by: FredTownWard at June 9, 2007 4:44 PM
**************************

But allowing her - even ENCOURAGING her in her own self-destructive behavior - because YOU don't have the emotional maturity to deal with your emotions about ETHICAL VALUES, will surely lead to SOMEONE ELSE'S DEATH - and THAT will hurt YOU even worse.

Grow up.

So what are the real numbers? The Los Angeles Times also decided to investigate the validity of these statistics. In 2002, NHTSA’s figures claimed 18,000 deaths on the nation’s highways attributable to drunk driving. The Times found that only about 5,000 of these involved a drunk driver causing the death of a sober driver, passenger or pedestrian. (Research by other groups, such as “Responsibility in DUI Laws, Inc.”, indicate the figure is actually under 3,000.)

Posted by: Robert at June 9, 2007 6:38 PM

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

IF you are trying to claim that all the drunk driving accidents were not caused by the drunk driver, let me tell you how it is explained to drunks and druggies in accidents in Texas:

YOU are drinking and driving - a crime in an of itself - BANNED behavior.

Maybe you didn't physical cause the accident, maybe someone ran into YOU. Maybe it was just a blow-out or something nobody could help.

BUT, since you are drinking, and should NOT be driving, also at the same time, IF YOU WERE NOT ON THE ROAD, then this sober driver NEVER could have hit you, no matter how wreckless he might be, sober.

THEREFORE, IF YOU WERE NOT ON THE ROAD DRINKING, THERE COULD NOT HAVE BEEN AN ACCIDENT.

We don't care if YOU understand or not - WE DO NOT WANT DRUNK DRIVERS ON THE ROAD WITH OUR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES AND LOVED ONES. PERIOD. EVER!

ALL 18,000 accidents involving a drunk driver WERE DIRECTLY ATTRIBUTEABLE TO THE DRUNK DRIVER. THAT is always the PRIMARY.
YOU are accountable for your conduct and all the consequences of it.

Maybe you should ride with some EMS teams who handle vehicular accidents for a few months, and see some of the damage up close and very personally.

You know, my son handled one case of a couple of young girls whose drivers' photos indicated they were really really cute girls.

They went to pass some vehicle on a little hill on an interstate highway, and they couldn't see on the other side of hte hill where they crossed into the other lane, with the yellow stripe on their side. Not even the very tall 18 wheeler that was coming towards them.

My son said that it was a good while after they got there that they realized that there wasn't just one person in the remains of the formerly cute little sports car.

What they did know was that a cell phone began ringing a few minutes after they arrived, and nobody had the nerve to answer it, especially since they hadn't even digested what they were looking at, yet.
Later, when someone got their id's and went to use their phones for family contact numbers to call, they saw that the phone call they had not answered was from one of the girl's parents, who just so happened to coincidentally call just moments after the crash that killed their daughter and her best friend.

Hell of a damned thing to have as a bond with another couple.

Unfortunately, you cannot bury two girls in the scraps of a car - they have to be physically separated from the car, to some degree, no matter how slight, and also, whenever possible, from eachother.

So, my advice to you is to get over the crap about numbers - since the bottom line is that most fatalities are still alcohol and drug related in vehicular crashes.

THESE ARE PEOPLE. And the ones who have to separate them from the wreckage are people, too.

One last point, with all the running against the wealthy going on here this Judge has not just created sympathy in a liberal like me and a dyed-in-the-wool Conservative such as Crittendon and Coulter, he has created a backlash of sympathy for Paris Hilton and her vain and shallow family.

Posted by: tomjfrombfflo at June 9, 2007 1:56 PM
************************

Doesn't bother you at all to act like the skanks that excused Andrea Yates for drowning her 5 beautiful sons, because she didn't have the nerve to tell her husband she wanted a divorce - and thus unleashed a whole trail of vicious brutal child-killings by women relieved to have Society's permission to do so!

No! Paris isn't excused, and neither is anyone else.

And until the penalty is strong enough to stop the behavior, NOBODY has suffered too strong a penalty NO MATTER WHO ELSE OR HOW MANY OTHERS HAVE NOT SUFFERED AS MUCH.

Just keep on hammering away at it WHEREVER YOU GET AN OPPORTUNITY!until you get the insufferable and intolerable behavior HALTED!

Similarly, a sober driver who is struck by another sober driver carrying an intoxicated passenger chalked up another “alcohol-related” death. Further, if the officer believes the driver to be intoxicated but chemical tests show he is not, the death is nevertheless reported as “alcohol-related”. In fact, if the tests indicate the presence of any alcohol at all, say .02%, the fatality will be chalked up as “alcohol-related”.
*********************************

I am not letting THAT crap drop.

SO SORRY!

I was in such an alcohol "related" crash, once.
My cousin and I were both stone sober, and she was driving, one particularly dark night.

We were hit in the driver's door by a truck going about 80 mph. My cousin had the stop sign, and she totally stopped. She looked left, then right, and without rechecking her left, she started SLOWLY across the empty cross road. As she got into the first lane, the lane where oncoming traffic was on her side of the car, I was sitting sideways, and saw the speeding pickup approaching us.

As she crossed into the NEXT lane of that street, I saw the truck VEER TOWARDS US, as if the driver seeing us was mesmerized by the inability to turn away, like a moth to the flame - watching US was "dumbstruck" and unable to maneuver EASILY around our backside, AS IT WAS ALREADY OUT OF HIS LANE.

Instead, aiming at us, he hit us IN THE OTHER LANE, right at my cousin's WRIST.
Her car door moved in until there wasn't an inch between the door and the steering wheel.

Thankfully, when I first saw the truck, I screamed, "LOOK OUT!"

Not so thankfully, my cousin turned slowly towards ME, AWAY FROM THE ONCOMING TRUCK and never saw it, and said, "Whaaa....uuut?"
Thankfully, as she turned physically to face me, she also turned the steering wheel towards me, and thus took her hand from where it would have been severed, to the top of the wheel.

Unfortunately, if she had seen the truck , instead of looking at me SCREAMING "LOOK OUT!", she would have stomped on the gas and cleared out of the path of the idiot.

Well, they climbed out of the truck to see if we, then slammed into a telephone pole by the impact, were ok.
It was a man and a woman, and clearly he got out of the drivers side, and clearly, she got out of the passenger side.

Soon the police were there, and they interviewed all of us, a few identifying questions, then separated us to get "unrehearsed" answers from all - 20 minutes after the accident.

When they re-approached us, they said the lady was driving, and he was the passenger. We denied that vehemently and clearly without confusion or doubt.

They said they figured that was right, but the couple was adamant, and we had no proof!

They also told us the couple said HE could NOT have been driving because of previous DRUNK DRIVING CONVICTIONS, so that MEANT SHE HAD TO BE DRIVING. She had never had a speeding ticket in her life, before, was clearly going AT LEAST 80 mph, on a city street, and he was very drunk!

My cousin got the ticket. The stop sign was with her!
Since it wasn't just for running a stop sign, which she had not done, it was very expensive.
Since SHE "caused the accident", the insurance wouldn't pay the damage on her parent's car, either.

I'm sure that if you talk to a few police, you'll discover this sort of injustice is why the police changed the way they rate accidents with drunk "PASSENGERS".
Meanwhile, every time I remeber this, I am so thankful my cousin still has her hand! I was watching the door come in as her hand slowly raised while SHE ws looking at ME!
I have the memory of the strong sensation of watching her barely escape that amputation by mere inches!

So I'm not amused with numbers manipulations designed to let drunks and druggies off the hook for their conduct in being on the road in that condition.

By the way, the lady was terrified and it seemed obvious to both my cousin and myself as well as the cops that she was an abused wife, and desperately afraid the police would NOT believe her wild tale that SHE was the one guilty of the wild driving!

SO thanks for dragging up that 37 yr old memory I hadn't thought of in quite some time!

Drinking and driving in Canada is a felony. Full stop.

I have ZERO sympathy for Paris. She was given a break and repeatedly spat on it.

Suck it up, buttercup.

*I* suspect that the reason why Hilton was so perturbed to the point of managing to escape the jail for a day is because she found out very quickly that there is no love and acceptance for her in the prison population. None of the other inmates are willing to give her the sympathy she was hogging the camera for out in the Real World...and that the inmates were very quick to dissuade her of the idea that she would escape the evisceration of her self-esteem. Having gone through that, I suspect that she was able to find one weak soul to let her 'run away' - which could and should bring her further wrath from the inmates.

Nothing hurts a drama queen worse than finding out they aren't that special. That's all Hilton is - a drama queen with unlimited amounts of money and no one holding her back. Not something to be envied...Pitied maybe, but the worst sort of pity. We all know this is the spanking she's been needing for the longest time...

Rose quoted me then responded:

"'But for far too many people the alternative to feeling sorry for her is to delight in her pain and that is a pretty ugly thing to do, given that we are not dealing with a truly evil person but rather merely an immature, irresponsible ditz.

Delighting in her pain won't hurt her a bit, but it might hurt you.'

Posted by: FredTownWard at June 9, 2007 4:44 PM
**************************

"But allowing her - even ENCOURAGING her in her own self-destructive behavior - because YOU don't have the emotional maturity to deal with your emotions about ETHICAL VALUES, will surely lead to SOMEONE ELSE'S DEATH - and THAT will hurt YOU even worse.

Grow up."

Posted by: Rose at June 10, 2007 12:33 AM
**************************

Rose, this is what comes of jumping into someone else's discussion to offer an opinion without reading the beginning. I don't think someone who wrote the following can be accurately accused of "allowing her - even ENCOURAGING her in her own self-destructive behavior - because YOU don't have the emotional maturity to deal with your emotions about ETHICAL VALUES."

Try reading the WHOLE THING before jumping to conclusions and responding next time.

"I find myself a bit torn on this one. On the one hand though a supporter of capital punishment, I would not normally advocate it for this particular crime..., but I could be talked into it (though in fairness we should start with her parents).

On the other hand it is hard not to feel sorry for someone who, if she doesn't turn things around, is on a path to make Anna Nicole Smith's look like a life well lived. Unlike the train wreck entertainers who must occasionaly get things together enough to earn a living, Paris is an heiress who doesn't actually have to DO anything in order to survive. Given the disaster her life is verging on becoming while she is yet young and pretty, it is unlikely that she'll live to see wrinkles and gray hair at this rate.

IMHO this jail sentence, now that she is going to be forced to serve it, might actually do her some good. She clearly needs SOMETHING to shock her into turning her life around. This might actually be the best thing that ever happened to her.

Posted by: FredTownWard at June 9, 2007 11:37 AM
**************************"

Guys, she got off easy, in Florida, most 1st time DUI offenders get 120 hours community service, 6 months in gaol, and a fine...as well as classes.

2nd offense is much tougher, 1 year in gaol and a larger fine.

3rd offense is 3 years...

Now, she was put on probation and ordered to go to classes and NOT drive...coulnd't do either...mommy and daddy used "influence" to get her out of jail early...that sort of thing pisses off judges...

Paris dear, if you can't do the time, don't do the crime...tough sh*t baby, you have to pay the price for your own stupidity. You are an adult now, and are responsible for EVERYTHING YOU DO AND EVERYTHING YOU SAY...or DON'T DO!!!!

Oh, I think Paris Hilton was a victim!

She paid too much for the terrible lawyering. And, the judge stomped on her. Because all lawyers get away with it!

Why was her punishment set at the extreme? Because da' judge is angry at what her lawyers accomplished.

Seems it's just another example of "warring lawyers."

Maybe, we need a TV show?

Most people in Paris Hilton's shoes, wouldn't have been punished like this at all. PLUS, all illegal males who look young and tough, are NEVER stopped by the police! It's just easier for them to haul in a blonde.

I think the whole system stinks.

And, I have NO RESPECT for this judge!

As to spending too much money on lawyers, someday, Paris Hilton can write a best seller.

Yes, folks. The Hilton family paid through the nose for this worthless representation.

And, the judge? Went overboard. Over the long term you think Baca, and the entire sheriff's department aren't capable of "pay back?"

Not that it will help Paris Hilton. Her sentence went from 23 days to the full 40. While she has time on her hands, she can send out thank-you notes.

By the way, she is NOT a murderess! This is just the same garbage ya got from the OJ jurors. They just like white victims. And, they think "no one's counting."

Bender,

With all due respect; it's not the sheriffs job to over rule the judge's sentence... That is telling him how to run his court. Paris is getting EXACTLY what she deserves... keep her sorry spoiled butt in jail.

Jim C

Her histrionics make me appreciate Martha Stewart. Maybe Paris should go see her after she's sprung and take some lessons in maintaining your dignity.

" PLUS, all illegal males who look young and tough, are NEVER stopped by the police! It's just easier for them to haul in a blonde."

Carol, what the heck are talking about?

I am cop in North Texas and I guarantee you that anyone, be they hispanic or otherwise gives me a hard, tough look will be stopped by me and that follows with any other cop in the United States that is worthy to be called such.

The problem you run into regarding illegals is the local, state, and federal prohibitions.