Repulsion

Two recent celebrity stories in the news were almost enough to turn me into a right-wing Republican.

First, of course, is the Mackenzie Phillips story. The former "One Day At a Time" star - the one who did not marry Eddie Van Halen - is rock royalty herself, having been sired by the late Mamas and Papas leader John Phillips. Now , she tells is, he slept with her as well - just before her her own wedding day!

It gives a whole new meaning to the title of the Mamas and the Papas's debut album, If You Could Believe Your Eyes and Ears.

The other big story was the arrest of director Roman Polanski in Switzerland for having had sex with a minor in the United States in 1977. Polanski was going to Zurich to attend a film festival and Swiss authorities, working in tandem with the American counterparts, were ready to apprehend him and possibly have him extradited. Poland and France - Polanski, of Polish decent and having lived in Poland as a boy, was born in France and lives in Paris today and holds dual citizenship in both countries - have called for his release. They see American authorities as the villains throwing their weight around as we Yanks tend to do, and they insist that Polanski has paid his debt to society.

Because he was forced to live in Paris and marry a gorgeous blonde?

They also said the he paid a heavy price by not being able to work in Hollywood.

Gosh, they act like that's a bad thing!

The minor he slept with, Samantha Geimer - now 45 and long since having identified herself as the girl in question - settled with Polanski long ago and wants the case dropped. Serious misconduct has been charged in the way the case was handled by a Los Angeles judge who is no longer alive. Well, if Polanski was treated wrongly by the American judicial system, why not bring him back here and see if the case can stand up to scrutiny?

Arresting Polanski may be the only way to do that. Earlier this year, Superior Court Judge Peter Espinoza in Los Angeles dismissed Polanski's bid to have the case itself dismisses because the director did not appear in court to press his request. Espinoza did agree, though, there was "substantial misconduct" in the handling of the original case.

Well, then, Polanski should come back and face whatever music he has to and have his case go through proper channels under standard procedure. Because fleeing the country and escaping to Paris doesn't seem like the proper way to go about it somehow. Anyone else accused of doing what Polanski did wouldn't be living it up on the Left Bank - he'd be getting down with the peeps in San Quentin.

Don't get me wrong. I like Polanski's movies, even though there's sometimes an undercurrent of dread to them (Repulsion, anyone?) But he was a guest of this country, and he violated the law. Maybe the case was conducted improperly, but he should have dealt with the original charges and tried to have whatever misconduct was applied by the authorities remedied, not just become a fugitive.