Like everyone else, I woke this morning to the news that Paris Hilton, the American Hotel heiress and "celebpar excellence" has been returned to jail by the judge. I don’t care whether she deserves 45 days in the slammer for DUI or other assorted traffic violations: what matters is that she is now as of this morning a prisoner in America’s largest psychiatric facility, which is the Los Angeles County Jail. The mental health system in the United States is a disgrace. If you even dimly suspect that Paris Hilton may not belong "there" imagine all the youthful offenders who became adult offenders who hail from families that never had medical insurance or proper treatment for serious mental illnesses. Imagine the third rate care such prisoners receive in the L.A. jails. This is the kind of thing that keeps me awake at night. Our nation’s health care crisis is in my view the most serious threat to our nation’s future. Period. S.K.
Planet of the Blind 