Hilton committed a serious crime, one that endangered lives. And she should be punished with far more than five days of confinement. (And not home confinement--no ankle bracelets, please.)

But what about our draconian justice system?

Why couldn’t she take any books to her cell? A cell in which she was to spend 23 hours per day alone? In Denmark, even serious offenders get TV in their cells. There, authorities and criminals find confinement itself, even if the inmate gets to spend some time watching TV or reading, to be as effective a deterrent to future crimes as harsher measures.

Hilton would've had plenty of time to ponder her crime, even if she'd had some books on hand.

The article by Havrilesky and Traister suggests how difficult it is to justly punish someone when the justice system is too harsh. A prominent journalist--maybe Havrilesky or Traister?--needs to look at this issue more closely.

I wonder what Hilton would have read in her cell, had she been allowed. The Bible? She did have a copy in hand in a recent photograph, taken just after she’d been convicted.

(By the way, Hilton's Bible, along with our justice system, is another sign of this country’s backwardness. Hilton's just one example of an American type: the priveleged hedonist who, in times of personal crisis only, turns to the spotty wisdom of the Bible.)

And, concerning Hilton's wild-girl image: So much for the socialite who said, "I'm ready to face my sentence."

I'm white, and I'm an American. I suppose that makes me a member of "White America." I have always liked social insurance for people of color--as well as for myself. This article's opening angle is insipid.

Moved to New York City for school. Stayed in New York for twenty years. Hate Texas. Despite various oases of sanity in that awful state, it's largely a brutal, medieval backwater. So here's how it goes: First, health care. And then the revocation of the death penalty. Gay marriage and everything else can wait. (And I'm gay.) Let's focus and achieve those two goals.

This news of yet another delay on health care/insurance reform is just the sort of thing that made me vote the way I did today.

Wherever it was possible on the ballot, I voted for the Socialist Worker's party. (I live in New York.) A horrible party, really: They're big apologists for Cuba (which, despite it's free education and health care, is obviously a pretty shitty, oppressive place). Crappy party. But I don't care. The Democrats can get nothing done, and as a whole they lean way too far to the right. I felt the only productive way I could use my tiny, tiny bit of influence as a voter was to vote as far left as possible.

I'd prefer a "mixed-economy, yes-it's-okay-to-tax-me-for-strong-public-services, push-for-campaign-finance-reform" party; but such a party will never exist here. So I'll just keep voting as far left as possible whenever I get the chance. (That's better, I think, than trying to join other voters who plan to put elected Democrats on notice by voting Republican.)

I'm taking an intensive course on teaching English to non-native speakers. Employment opportunities for such work are pretty good abroad. I despise this country. I can't wait to get out of it.

I wrote it pretty quickly. And typos like that bug me.

I wrote it pretty quickly. And typos like that bug me.