Poor Little Rich Girl

How sad a day it is when socialite millionairesses are held to the same standards as the wretched, huddled masses that tune in to their reality TV shows. Paris Hilton has fired her publicist for allegedly mis-informing her that she could drive following Paris' DUI plea. Poor little Paris didn't know her license was suspended. Despite being told by the police on at least one prior occasion before prosecutors moved to revoke her probation. Of course, in the end, it's up to each driver to be responsible for knowing the status of his or her license. "I'm very busy and didn't ask my attorneys about it" doesn't cut it. Neither does going on a radio interview hours after a DUI and saying, "It's no big deal. I just wanted an In-n-Out Burger".

Is this a witch hunt? Well, regardless of what you think of Paris Hilton and her kind, if the treatment she's receiving isn't typical of how DUI probation violators are scrutinized, it should be. Does the D.A. have to wait until she actually kills someone while under the influence? Or even kills herself?

Speaking of which, the DUI issue has raised its head in the case of Josh Hancock, a 29 year old journeyman pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals. When word of his early morning fatal collision spread, it wasn't long before the question started being raised of whether alcohol was involved. Immediately, apologists rose to the defense of the fallen athlete. "You can't leap to conclusion on this. The tests results aren't back yet." Well, the test results are now back and the conclusions are clear that Hancock had over 2x the legal BAC at the time of his death and marijuana paraphrenalia was also found in his vehicle. Does it make it less of a tragedy for his friends and family? No. But he apparently had opportunities to avoid his demise. Hancock reportedly turned down offers to have a cab called for him.

Now the Cardinals have banned alcohol from the clubhouse. Not necessarily a bad idea given their manager's own DUI problems. It won't stop players from jumping in their luxury automobiles and driving down the road for a drink. But it will insulate the team from potential liability which could have arisen if an intoxicated player were to get loaded in the clubhouse and injured/killed someone. I don't know if Missouri has social host Dram Shop liability but better safe than sorry.