The latest incident involving an out of control police officer raises more questions about a police department in trouble.
On Tuesday, police officer Ashley Terry brandished a weapon and threatened another person at the TremeCommunity Center. It seems that Terry was upset about waiting in line at the center and went crazy. She used expletives and told a parent “B___, you don’t know who you’re f_______ with.” While she was displaying her gun and yelling, children were in the vicinity and could have been harmed or killed.
When a police officer threatens an innocent civilian with a loaded weapon, that officer should be immediately fired and brought to jail. There is no reason for Ashley Terry to remain a police officer. She is a danger to the community and another embarrassment for this troubled department. Instead of doing the right thing and firing this lunatic, Chief Riley suspended Terry and launched an investigation.
What is there to investigate? It is clear that Terry acted inappropriately and brought dishonor to the department. No police officer should use his or her position to threaten innocent civilians.
To make matters worse, the 1st District supervisor who visited the scene to “investigate,” instead joked about the incident and boasted that Terry should have shot a bystander who had the audacity to complain.
It is bad enough that Terry, a rookie with only 15 months experience, acted like a criminal, but it was even worse that a ranking officer joked about shooting an unarmed bystander. These incidents show a department with trouble throughout the ranks.
Of course it starts at the top at City Hall where Mayor Ray Nagin is too busy traveling to exotic locations to do anything about the calamity in his police department. If the Mayor really cared about the citizens of this city and their safety, he would fire Chief Riley and order a complete leadership shake-up in the NOPD.
In an interview this morning, Riley showed how clueless that he really is and boasted about how the NOPD is doing a great job reducing crime. What a joke! People throughout New Orleans are more concerned about crime than ever. The violent crime rate is very high and the NOPD has cops that are out of control, just look at the recent cases that have been made public.
About the only thing that gets Chief Riley upset is the color of the uniform an officer wears. The NOPD is in crisis. When will Mayor Nagin show that he gives a damn?
Jeff Crouere is a native of New Orleans, LA and he is the host of a Louisiana based program, “Ringside Politics,” which airs at 7:30 p.m. Fri. and 10:00 p.m. Sun. on WLAE-TV 32, a PBS station, and 7 till 11 a.m. weekdays on WGSO 990 AM in New Orleans and the Northshore. For more information, visit his web site at www.ringsidepolitics.com. E-mail him at jeff@ringsidepolitics.com
Regulators trying to sell IndyMac…. Fort Worth Star-Telegram - Wed Jul 23, 1:20 am EDT….. IndyMac Bancorp Inc., the third-largest bank ever to be taken over by U.S. regulators, will be sold "as soon as possible," ……….the government may offer to share losses to entice ... Written by Not Fannie Mae, Not Freddie Mac, its IndyMac
on 7/23/2008
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FDIC head says more banks skirting failure....... 90 listed in trouble during first quarter..... From Chicago Tribune news services..... July 23, 2008.... SAN FRANCISCO—The chairwoman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Tuesday more banks are in danger of failing and that the government agency expects to raise premiums to restore its reserve fund after paying out billions of dollars to depositors at IndyMac Bank.
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on 7/23/2008
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Strong quake jolts northern Japan, no tsunami........ By Yoko Kubota 2 hours, 21 minutes ago... TOKYO (Reuters) - A strong earthquake jolted northern Japan early on Thursday, injuring several people, burying three cars under a landslide and cutting off electric power to at least 10,000 homes, media reports and officials said. ************************ Right on schedule………. Next events……. Alaska/California coast…….. Aug. – Oct………………... 7+ in Richter scale….. Next events……. It's all about plate tectonics and friction................... Or, pressure......... Friction and pressure, two constants that are prone to make things happen................... Now, in as far as things getting worse? Well, we have our own little Septober to deal with I would suppose... Nothing too out of the ordinary.... We get a break... They happen indiscriminately....
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on 7/23/2008
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Strong quake jolts northern Japan, no tsunami.......... By Yoko Kubota 2 hours, 21 minutes ago..... TOKYO (Reuters) - A strong earthquake jolted northern Japan early on Thursday, injuring several people, burying three cars under a landslide and cutting off electric power to at least 10,000 homes, media reports and officials said. ************************ Right on schedule………. Next events……. It's all about plate tectonics and friction................... Or, pressure......... Friction and pressure, two constants that are prone to make things happen................... Now, in as far as things getting worse? Well, we have our own little Septober to deal with I would suppose... Nothing too out of the ordinary.... We get a break...
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on 7/23/2008
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Researcher says Gulf dead zone bigger than ever.......... By MICHAEL GRACZYK, Associated Press Writer Wed Jul 23, 5:39 AM ET............ HOUSTON - A "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico off the Texas-Louisiana coast this year is likely to be the biggest ever and last longer than ever before, with marine life affected for hundreds of miles, a scientist warned.......... "It's definitely the worst we've seen in the last five years," said Steve DiMarco, a Texas A&M University professor of oceanography who for 16 years has studied the Gulf of Mexico dead zone, so named because the oxygen-depleted water can kill marine life........ The phenomenon is caused when salt water loses large amounts of oxygen, a condition known as hypoxia that is typically associated with an area off the LOUISIANA COAST at the mouth of the MISSISSIPPI RIVER. The fresh water and salt water don't mix well, keeping oxygen from filtering through to the sea bottom, which causes problems for fish, shrimp, crabs and clams........ This year's dead zone has been aggravated by flood runoff from heavy spring rains and additional runoff moving into the Gulf from record floods along the Mississippi.............. DiMarco, joined by researchers from Texas A&M and the University of Georgia, just returned from an examination of 74 sites between Terrebonne and Cameron, La. He said the most severe hypoxia levels were recorded in the mid-range depths, between 20 and 30 feet, as well as near the bottom of the sea floor at about 60 feet............ Some of the worst hypoxic levels occurred in the western Gulf toward the state line.............
"We saw quite a few areas that had little or no oxygen at all at that site," DiMarco said Tuesday. "This dead zone area is the strongest we've seen since 2004, and it's very likely the worst may be still to come.............."Since most of the water from the Midwest is still making its way down to the Gulf, we believe that wide area of hypoxia will persist through August and likely until September, when it normally ends."............. Last year, DiMarco discovered a similar dead zone off the Texas coast where the rain-swollen Brazos River emptied into the Gulf.
The zone off Louisiana reached a record 7,900 square miles in 2002. A recent estimate from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Louisiana State University shows the zone, which has been monitored for about 25 years, could exceed 8,800 square miles this year, an area roughly the size of New Jersey.
DiMarco said a tropical storm or hurricane likely would have no impact on this year's zone, believed to be caused by nutrient pollution from fertilizers that empty into rivers and eventually reach the Gulf............ *NOTE... Yup, it CAN always get WORSE............. Too bad Louisiana wasn't DOING something that could have provided FOR THE POSSIBILITY of low cost and effective flood water protection to its neighbors up north...... Told you there were national implications..... HAPPY WHITE SHRIMP SEASON FOLKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Written by .....................STRONGCONCRETE...............
on 7/23/2008
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And I of course enjoy being a clown from time to time.... It sort of breaks up the moments that make up the dog day..................... Written by
on 7/22/2008
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Sorry T-Dub, IT CAN ALWAYS GET WORSE...................... You haven't seen nothing yet...... Credit Suisse is an interesting barometer........... I would suggest following that, and of course the real estate indicators in Europe...... For such an intellegent person you sure are sort of dumb................. Oh well, the world loves a circus, and circus's need fools and clowns just as much as they need the audiance that views the spectacle presented before their eyes for their amusement....... Written by
on 7/22/2008
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It CANNOT be worse - hopefully we'll get to see that I'm right about that. TW Written by Tee Dub
on 7/21/2008
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I would venture to say that it will take years to undo the damage caused by irresponsible acts of the mob which is America during the Cheney Administration….. Wait until you see what happens during the Obama administration if it does indeed come to pass…… The writing is already on the wall, and the desolate fruit of indecision will be ripe for the picking by those who tend to agree to disagree…….. Written by Rome is the mob
on 7/21/2008
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Wut evah........................... McCain - 09!!!!!!!! Written by
on 7/21/2008
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Kerry, good points. As for no-name, I think you and I are going to have to agree to disagree. I think the last 8 years have demonstrated that this nation is under greater threat due to the voting booth actions of (some) whites than blacks. It will take years to undo the damage caused by the Cheney Administration, and on some things we may already be too late. TW Written by Tee Dub
on 7/21/2008
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Oh T-dubby…… I don’t even know who Harry Lee is……. But I luv’s ya back…………………. You have piqued my curiosity though…. This code talk stuff???? Are they decipherable as a result of the voices in your head??? Or if you are telepathic, should I be able to pick up on your mental transmissions and assimilate some form of pattern that will benefit me greatly in consideration and decision making processes?? I don’t know, I am so uneducated as well as illiterate that I am not able to figure that one out…… But in an attempt to understand, are you saying that only stupid black folks voted for Jefferson, or are you saying black folks in general are stupid?? I am sure there were more than one or two black folks possessing a college degree in one field or another voted for him… But then perhaps you are saying that if they didn’t go to the same college as you, and have the same doctrines embedded in their reasoning processes as you did that they, although perhaps sufficient in comprehension to be capable of rolling their little turds in a ball still are not of the same stature in scholastics or academics as you and therefore surely must be lacking….. But to take it farther, if they are still lacking, and then you are saying that only stupid black folks voted for Jefferson, are you saying that no stupid white folks voted for him? But then again, if some of those ‘stupid’ white folks also possessed college degrees and voted for Jefferson, and as reason of habit also voted for Bush, are you saying there are stupid black folks and stupid white folks or are you really trying to say that black folks and white folks are equally stupid……??? But only if they voted for Jefferson??? And worse, for Bush…… But if those stupid white folks and stupid black folks had college degrees are they really stupid? Or are they merely making a fool of you??? But being as you are so smart, and you are white, and you didn’t vote for Jefferson, you aren’t a fool…… And you are actually quite the genius because you didn’t vote for Bush? But if you aren’t a fool then why are you writing about stupid black folks that voted for Jefferson because that leaves you open to racism……… And why are you writing about Bush and the economy when a person of your sheer intellect should surely have been capable of turning the situation around regardless of what Bush or Jefferson did? Ahhhhh,,, but racism doesn’t apply when one is lump summing stupid people into one group, regardless of color……. But then if you are going to lump sum one group together and imply that there are common traits to that society, well then, are you saying you are an observationist rather than a racist??? And that being as you are smarter than others, you can single one out and label it as being stupider than you and therefore something that should be sequestered or banished from public view and consideration? So tell me T-Dubby, what do you do when something a little larger than life than you comes around????? Written by ....Just to rattle your cage a little.............
on 7/21/2008
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Mr. Dub, Let's talk racist politics. How many of the black voters in Louisiana do you predict will vote for white candidates when there is a black candidate in the race? I know you don't generally predict the free will decisions of your comrades, but you regularly predict and speculate on the voting habits and deeply held beliefs of your opponents. * So correct me if I'm wrong in this belief. I have no doubt that our government entities at the local and now the national level are at a greater risk from unqualified and biased candidates who are elected by black block voters than they are from any other threat. I recognize that there are voting blocks of many colors, beliefs, and delusions. And some of those really push your buttons on a few key issues. But when it comes to overall effectiveness and unbiased outlook for the general welfare of our cities, states, and nation once elected, no group of candidates is as dangerous as the slate of black candidates who can be swept into office by black block voting, especially when you add the cushion of depression era white democrats, white liberals and union members to their vote totals. The politicians elected by this block are commonly focused on retribution style policies which do not serve the long-term best interests of their voters or their other constituents at all. That is the black block voting dynamic that has destroyed New Orleans and many other large cities. Written by
on 7/21/2008
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When the Irish first came to this country, they were happy when an Irishman was finally elected to public office - no matter how corrupt he may have been. This was due to an "us vs. them" mentality. Eventually (most) people of Irish ancestry could care less about a candidate's ancestral heritage. Unfortunately due to such matters as slavery and prejudice that has also included such "small matters" as lynching, etc. - the "us vs. them" mentality is quite strong in many black minds. This leads many to believe any "black face" in public office is better than any "white face." In time there will be a change in this mindset where most voters - black or white - will attempt to elect someone who will handle our governance (and tax money) in an ethical manner instead of simply electing someone whose skin color is the same as their own. While I agree that Sharpton, Rev. Jackson and other race baiters only retard this progress, so does the racist “code talk” TW pointed out. In essence being an outspoken racist white is assisting Sharpton and Jackson to succeed in maintaining tension between the races. Written by kpf
on 7/21/2008
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Both Officers should be fired. First the one that waved the
gun around and second the officer for joking about it.
Let a civillian do that and his/her butt goes to jail but
in New Orleans it's good to be the King/Queen. Written by Meaux
on 7/20/2008
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This is a problem for all races, much like the problems that the black community in America have had to put up with - including the media glossing over or minimizing the spectaculary negligent and outrageously condescending attitudes of the police administrators to the public they "serve". We should all step up and demand better. It is really simple: If you want innocent people to be harrassed and violated, do nothing. But if you want this to be fixed, you will have to recall the elected official that has apponted this bigoted and socially retarded individual to run the police department. Written by BR Native BB
on 7/20/2008
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Obama is the worst candidate to come along in years? First of all, I'm not completely smitten with him, so let's get that out of the way, but he's hardly the worst candidate to come along - Chimpy McFlightsuit has practically destroyed our economy, put us in unparalleled debt, depleting our treasury and all the while trashing our international reputation, and ruining the value of the dollar, and you think Obama is the worst candidate to come along? How many of you morons voted for Bush? Probably most of you "I'm not a socialist!" fools did it twice. Now there's a measure of true stupidity. We live in a socialist state. Get over it. As for my finding racism where none exists - that's a load of crap. Look, I'm a white guy, so you can't fool me with your code talk. When you say "Look at New Orleans if you want to see what the country will look like..." I know exactly what you're saying. We've made progress in the sense that people usually don't use the n-word in a public forum, but instead, American racism is a bit more insidious. In other words, it's less overt, but it's still there. I know what the "Dr." meant, and so do all of you. And as for StrongConcrete - I've told you before that Bill Jefferson is in office not just because stupid black people voted for him, but because stupid, conservative, non-thinking, whites stayed at home and didn't vote for his opponent. Why? Because Harry Lee told them not to. TW Written by Tee Dub
on 7/20/2008
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Tee tee tee, It's not just about race, it's about liberalism, socialism and the politics and of victimhood. It's a government that considers government good, and business and private wealth and responsibility bad. It's about a government that is NOT colorblind, but that has a chocolate goal. It's black "heroes" like Bill Jefferson, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and anyone else who plays the race card for their own benefit. Sure, Jesse got caught badmouthing Obama - they'll be hugging like two glorious comrades before it's over. Written by
on 7/20/2008
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Jackson said, "Finally I see a spade called a spade".....Are you from Garyville, Jackson? Written by KjunLady
on 7/19/2008
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Great comments all. Finally I see a spade called a spade when it comes to affirmative action. I am so sick of set asides. The best person for the job should get the job period. When a square peg is forced into a round hole, the device doesn't work as it is supposed to.
And T.W., I fear the Dr. is correct. Obama is the worst candidate to come along in my lifetime and in my opinion the level of leadership of the past 4-5 presidents equals middle school. We have not had what I would consider an average leader, much less great. By the same scale, Obama has yet to make it to daycare. Written by Jackson
on 7/19/2008
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T.W., That appears to be a rather sober observation on the Dr's. part....... I think think that perhaps it is you rather than the Doc that may be the racist where no issue was made................... Written by
on 7/19/2008
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Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh,,,, Hello............... Affirmative-Action IS racism....... Duhhhhhhhhhhhhh.......................... Not running Jefferson out of town tarred and feathered IS racism.............................. duhhhhhhhhhhhh....... Bugging a bunch of kids trying to get some time off to theirselves under an oak tree during a school break and then ganging up on one of them and putting him in the hospital IS not only racism, it is HATE............................ duhhhhhhh......
Artificially legislating and creating special lines to incorporate a majority of blacks in a certain voting district IS racism..........................duhhhhh................ And then sitting around and complaining about the outcome for those actions is STUPID.................... NOT RACISM.................duhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Written by
on 7/19/2008
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Jeff, dear, we see that you like our famous little ine also. Yes, we do give a damn. The major flaw lies in the quality of individuals being hired for the police force. Stop the issue of racism, people. Demand that there be stricter guidelines and more extensive psychiatric evaluation of potential recruits. The training must be more extensive. Questions of certification in specific areas, such as crisis situation management, must be put into place. Yes, there will be "meltdowns" and these should be handled effectively. The officer in this instance at Treme was not melting nor was she properly trained in anger managment, etc. Hoodlums do not belong on our police force. Choices of qualified people (regardless of ancestry) must be made. It is time to unite in the effort to rebuild. Yet discrimination remains. No better example of this is the demand that only an American of African ancestry be given a judgeship in Jefferson Parish. Such "affirmative action" programs are not affirmative, not positive for improvement of the judiciary, but merely an attempt to appease a certain segment of society, who cannot and will not help build a united future but relies on the ignorance of the past to gain in the future. We should learn from the errors of the past not create them again under a different disguise. Frankly, Jeff, dear, we have always given a good loud damn. Written by RhettsWife
on 7/19/2008
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The "Dr." writes: "If you want to see what the U.S. will be like under Obama as the president then look @ New Orleans!!!" It is amazing to me the racist paranoia that exists among some of our citizenry. TW Written by Tee Dub
on 7/19/2008
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CRIME HAS BEEN THE NUMBER ONE PROBLEM FOR YEARS AND YEARS AND YEARS IN NOLA. RILEY IS INCOMPETENT AS HIS PREDESCESOR. THE BIG PROBLEM IS 'CRIME IS LEGAL' NAGIN. WE NEED, AND HAVE NEEDED, A GUILLIANI RUNNING THE CITY. WHAT A DREAM COME TRUE, GULLIANI TOOK A HIGH CRIME URBAN AREA, MADE IT LOW CRIME, AND KEPT IT LOW CRIME FOR 15 YEARS AND GOING STRONG.............NO TO NAGIN.........YES TO GUILLANNI.....WILL SOMEONE BE OUR GULLIANI????????????? Written by Same Old Story
on 7/18/2008
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Riley needs to shape up or ship out. He obviously has lost it here. No control. Two of his officiers go completely ballastic and you hear little to nothing about it, a guy wears the wrong colored shirt on his last day and gets suspended. Written by Tony G
on 7/18/2008
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I wrote the below having not even looked into who police officer Ashley Terry was.... Out of curiosity, I decided to see... Yup................. no brainer there........ Sad but true........ And she somehow causes more blight to fall upon black folks all around.... That is the shame.......... Now show me a story of another police reported offense, and, I will probably be able to tell if it is a white police action type of an offense, they have their M.O. also....... But again, affirmative action................. preferences based on what?????? Written by
on 7/18/2008
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Wendy, did it ever occur to you that affirmative action hiring practices may be partially the fault here? And did it occur to you that perhaps a cadet that would be unfit for this job made it through the screening processes? Written by
on 7/18/2008
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When hiring new Police Officers, a "diverse" police force is more important that you family's saftey. Written by NolaBoy
on 7/18/2008
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Jeff,
I agree with you that an off-duty policewoman waving her gun at, cursing, and threatening a woman picking up her kids after day camp has no business being part of the NOPD. Two words: Anger Management. The news reports talked about this encounter as "road rage," and it is, even if the women were standing in line at the time. Perhaps this is what we get when we have a police superintendent promoted from within NOPD, who can't, or won't, discipline his officers. Maybe he feels loyalty towards them, because he was one of them, and now he has to supervise them, and that includes firing those who threaten not only the NOPD, but also members of the community. When one of these officers "acts out," as this policewoman did, and becomes a threat to those around her, and her actions aren't taken seriously (and this is the second complaint against her. Where is the NOPD getting these officers from? Don't they do a psychological evaluation, to make sure these men and women are "stable" enough for this kind of work?), then this calls for more than a mere payless suspension. The more disturbing part of this is that the 1st District officer joked with her, and said she should have shot the guy who came over to mediate the dispute! These officers are the ones we tell our kids to trust when they see something that needs to be corrected, or they see a problem in their neighborhood. We trust them with our lives and our property, when we leave town on vacation, or during a hurricane. Maybe this policewoman is a "bad apple", who somehow got through the NOPD's mental health screening process, and maybe she was fine 15 months ago, and is now going through a meltdown. Either way, she needs to be removed from the NOPD permanently. All it takes is for her to have another fit of "road rage", take out her gun, and pull the trigger, and she could injure or kill witnesses or a fellow police officer, trying to intervene and defuse the situation.
What happened is no laughing matter. Written by Wendy King
on 7/18/2008
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I am sort of amazed that such swift action was taken on this..... I remember similar types of things happening to me some years ago, no, didn't live in N.O. but just the same..... I called the F.B.I...... numerous times....... no help..... Called the Louisiana D.O.J.................. again, no help............ Ahhhhh.... I know why..... I wasn't female, and I wasn't black................... Written by
on 7/18/2008
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This shouldnt be a surprise to anyone that really has watched the city self destruct itself over the last twenty years. It was totally predictable. If you want to see what the U.S. will be like under Obama as the president then look @ New Orleans!!! Nagin and Reily thinks they are intelligent leaders and legends in their own minds, hence, the tragedy. Nagin said he wanted a chocolate city at the end of the day. Guess what its here and about as chocolate as it can be. They are one step away from eating each other.Where the hell are all of the Reverends protesting to fire and charge this female police officer????? Thats because they are some of the same Reverends like "Messy Jesse Jackson" another incompetent sucking up everyones taxes.
The Dr. Written by The Dr.
on 7/18/2008
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