In St. Tammany Parish Dreads = Probable Cause Among Other Things

On Thursday, June 29th, St Tammany Parish Sheriff, Jack Strain made the following comments at a press conference. View the video of the press conference here.

"What I'm concerned that all the leaders of this parish come together and understand that the reality exist that there's tremendous pressure in the city right now. And if you work tirelessly trying to deal wth the issue in the city, you know, you put so much pressure on the trash that's there, that's gonna run somewhere else. That's without a doubt. The difference beween, what I see, and this is from my personal perspective, for some reason New Orleans chooses to coddle people or criminals in that area that tend to get away with a great deal. We will not coddle that trash in St. Tammany Parish. If they come to St. Tammany Parish, we're gonna pursue them. We're gonna arrest them. Our prosecutors are going to prosecute them. And our judges are going to convict them. Now I don't get into calling people names, but if you're gonna walk the streets of St. Tammany Parish with dreadlock and chee-wee hairstyles you can expect to be getting a visit from a Sheriff's Deputy. We would rather you come be a working, taxpaying citizen of this parish and contribute to what makes this parish great. If you believe you're gonna come over here and take advantage of our residents, then you're wrong. We're gonna deal with you one way or the other. And its not our intent to violate anyone's civil rights. But you can guarantee, things that you got away with in the city will not be tolerated in this parish. And I know you have some slick lawyers on both sides of the lake who make tremendous living off of getting these people out of jail. Well, we've proven in this parish that its a pretty difficult challenge for them, defense attorneys, that is - my personal opinion is that's the first people we should put on a rail and get out of here. You know there's a lot going on in the city that will affect St. Tammany Parish that my residents need to be aware of today. The destruction of all the housing projects, these people will not live on the street, the federal government's gonna find somewhere for them to live. I don't want to see temporary housing because of Katrina turn into long term housing for a bunch of thugs and trash that don't belong in St. Tammany Parish. So that's something we need to be aware of today. And all leaders need to be vigilant and observant. We don't want to wake up one day and find out New Orleans has been damn successful at running all the trash out of the city and it end up resting in St. Tammany. We don't need to put our head in the sand, I guess, is the best explanation I have. Am I frustrated? No question about it. I'm frustrated that the regional approach I said before the guard went into the city is not understood. We learned during Katrina when the state fails to come in and help, it makes our job a hell of a lot harder. We learned when the federal government doesn't come in, it makes our job more difficult. The governor now is saying to the federal government, give us our fair share of oil royalties. I'm telling the governor give us our fair share of sales taxes. Hire more state police, get in this parish and help this team get this parish safe."

Observations
1) When did dreads come to be described as a chee-wee hairstyle? For a history of the harstyle, start here and here. When did dreads become mutually exclusive of being a working, taxpaying citizen? When did dreads automatically give police the probable cause or reasonable suspicion to search or detain?

2) It is really interesting that Nagin's chocolate city comments received a maelstrom of disdain and disbelief. But this guy promises police harassment for a specific group of people; and, there isn't even a hint of outrage. In addition, he describes former residents of housing developments as “thugs and trash that don’t belong in St. Tammany Parish.” Are not these comments the equivalent of a vanilla city speech?

3) I also find it incredulous that attempts to fight crime in New Orleans is causing such resentment throughout the region. New Orleans' neighbors would rather New Orleans leave its problems unsolved and its recovery incomplete if the solutions to those problems inconveniences other parishes in any way. There isn't any certainty or proof that crime-fighting efforts in N.O. are affecting other parishes. [See the story here that surrounding parishes are using to support “criminal spillover” claims. Note: Officials seem hopeful but not sure the victims or perpetrators of the crime were from New Orleans. Originally, however, reporters said the victims weren't, which of course doesn't make their deaths any less tragic but does detract from the sheriff's using these people's deaths as a reason to sanction police harassment.] But as soon as the National Guard came to town, the neighbors started complaining. The many manifestations of selfishness are astounding. And a selfish politician is especially ugly, but not especially surprising. Surrounding parishes believe if New Orleans gets state or federal assistance then the entire region should get help regardless of need, I suppose.

4) The last time I checked, the trier of fact (judge or jury) determined guilt or innocence not the Parish Sheriff. Yet, this “sheriff” asserts that if the prosecutors prosecute then the judges are going to convict. That’s not in accordance to Louisiana’s Code of Criminal Procedure, the Louisiana Constitution or the US Constitution. These crime-fighting measures are legally baseless – in other words illegal. Harassing people based on their hairstyle and convicting people simply because they are being prosecuted is utterly ridiculous and embarassing; yet its reminiscent of an ass-backwards heritage in America’s not so distant past. Though noone wants to witness their community being overtaken by violence and the pressure on officials to protect citizens is great, the vigilante justice encouraged by this local “leader” seems like the real trash and thuggery.

The BET Awards **Updated**

Having the precocious musical taste that I do, I was really disappointed with the 2006 BET Awards. There was far too little Chaka Khan and Prince.

I had been hearing that Prince would be doing the grand finale for months. Well, the finale wasn't grand at all. It was one song - not even "Black Sweat" which is the single with the most exposure from the Prince's current album, 3121.

I was totally surprised that Chaka was receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award. In his introduction, Steve Harvey came out and tried his best to make every young singer feel like crap saying these young girls today can't compete with "the voice" that is Chaka. But then Chaka didn't even sing her own songs. My jaw dropped to the floor when Yolanda Adams came out to do her heartfelt but meager Chaka imitation. Don't even get me started on India.Arie...whatever. How were "these young girls" to learn from "the voice" when it was on mute?

{Source}

Damon Wayans as a host was a mistake. After he bombed in the beginning of the show, he just acted drunk or coked out for the rest of the time. He literally acted like he couldn't feel his face. He settled for mis-reading from the teleprompter.

Whichever brilliant BET exec hired the sound crew made a mistake. How does an entire bass line drop out during the few seconds of TI's performance?

The choice of camera lens was also a mistake. I don't know if it was some kind of digital recorder or what. But the quality was crap. The picture was blurry for nearly the entire show. The cameramen weren't that great either. The cameras seemed to be shaking or unexpectedly recording the floor at the most inopportune times. Maybe the camera crew was coking it out in the back with Damon during the commercial breaks.

I did like Chris Brown's performance for its extravagance.

And I liked Keyshia Cole's performance for its simplicity. I'm looking forward to her reality show, but I'm sure BET will find some way to make it suck.

Beyonce was aiight. But I couldn't get with her dancing legs open, crouch to the audience. And the whole writhing on the ground thing was way over the top. But that's where this chick seems most comfortable - hence the leg and stomach appliques. Click here to see the performance.

That Jamie Foxx - Fantasia kiss threw me because I didn't understand its purpose. I wanted more feature time for Fantasia. Her overstated voice compliments Jamie's understated voice.

Didn't Bernnadette "Thelma" Stanis make Janet "Penny Woods" Jackson look like a plastic chicken who's terrified of getting old when they were standing next to each other?

All in all, the show was pretty disappointing. It seems BET only set out to top last year's festivities not produce a great show for this year.

[All pics courtesy bet.com unless stated otherwise.]

USA is a gonna after losing to Ghana

Ghana eliminated the USA from the FIFA World Cup this morning. Even though this is Ghana's first World Cup appearance, the team is still kicking butt and taking names. After losing to Italy in the first game of the first round, Ghana decisively put the Czech Republic in check (2-0) and just straight smacked down the USA (2-1). In their triumph, however, Ghana remained gracious (see the pic). [In the pic below, a Getty pic taken from Yahoo!, Essien of Ghana helps up Onyewu of the USA.]

BRAZIL OF AFRICA
Ghana will now move to the second round where they will face Brazil. At the end of the match, one of the commentators said that Ghana is known as "the Brazil of Africa." Don't know what that means go here, here and here. The label seems to be given to any African nation for any number of reasons, whether its disparate economic growth or awesome soccer play. Language is so imprecise. Don't ya think?!

Wrong about the NBA Finals

So much drama happened after Game 3 (the last time I posted about the Finals), a game where Dallas blew a double digit lead with 6 minutes left.

My least favorite moment: I picked Dallas. And I was wrong. I didn't anticipate that Dallas would suffer meltdown or that the refs would would collectively become the sixth man for the Miami Heat.

There's a tie for my most favorite moment: First, there was Mark Cuban's alleged tirade against Massa Stern. "[Bleep] you! [Bleep] you! Your league is rigged!" Second, Shaq got a ring without Kobe. So you see I won either way. If Dallas would have won, Avery, the homey from the N.O. would've gotten a ring. But since Miami won, I get to imagine Kobe stewing in his juices while Shaq dons ring number 4. Truly beautiful!! [Below a Getty pic taken from Yahoo! Sports.]

I hold fast to my observation that Dwy-Ane Wade is overrated. My argument is only bolstered by the misguided comparisons of Wade and Jordan. Are you kidding me? This guy has ONE ring, minimal defensive skills and a streaky (putting it mildly) jumpshot. The fact that he had a higher ppg in his first finals appearance than Jordan only means that Dallas laid down. It hardly means he worthy of a Michael Jordan comparison. [Below, Getty pic taken from Yahoo! Sports.]

Plus, since Dallas gave up Wade really didn't have to overcome his intense ailments that only manifest themselves in the presence of a staunch defense. I guess I'll have to wait until next season to gather more evidence as to why I am right about this guy.

Still, I think Wade deserved MVP. Who else was it going to be? His team hardly had other contenders.

Another note: Gary Payton can finally throw the peace sign. He got a ring. Hooray Beer!!

I Loathe Inaccurate Reporting

Just visited the BET website (Get the story here.) where I was greeted with the title "National Guard Ordered to Patrol NOLA." The title is accurate. But that's where the accuracy ends. First, the "reporter" names New Orleans City Council President as "Olive" Thomas when the man's name is Oliver. Then the entire article implies that the National Guard is being sent to New Orleans to solve or thwart murders, which is just not true. Its obvious the so-called reporter who wrote this article just read the first few paragraphs of an AP article and then paraphrased. That's my bad for relying on BET as a news source. BET should stick to what its good at - throwing award shows and degrading women.

Any good reporter would have uncovered that the city of New Orleans submitted the request for national guard troops to Gov. Blanco weeks ago. And the troops will be assigned to devastated areas to quell looting leaving local police free to focus on crime-ridden neighborhoods. See this excert from an article found Tuesday on nola.com ...

The city initially asked for 300 Guard soldiers and 60 troopers, and the Blanco administration said late Monday that the deployment will build up to that number in the coming weeks. Leaders of the various agencies involved will meet today to discuss patrolling strategies.
For now, the plan calls for stationing troops mainly in desolate areas devastated by Katrina, Police Superintendent Warren Riley said in his own news conference late Monday. Their presence in those areas should curb looting, and will allow police to focus on "hot spots" in more heavily populated sections of town where most of the violence is occurring, he said. (Pic is of symbol for Louisiana National Guard)

Any competent journalist would have inferred and then confirmed that the real story isn't that the National Guard is being sent to New Orleans. The real story, especially for a "Black" entertainment television website, is that 5 Black young men had to be slaughtered before our clueless governor got a clue and realized the police department here is understaffed and needs help doing routine patrols so that it can concentrate on unforeseen tragedies and challenges. (Get the story here)

In addition to loathsomeness, the article's inaccurate implications make me muse: "What investment does the news media have in painting New Orleans as a den of murder, hopelessness, devastation and inquity?" Oh yes, I know. People don't want to feel guilty about not helping those in need. BET doesn't want to feel guilty that they spend more time and money advertising Beyonce's opening act for the upcoming BET awards than to disaster relief. How does one assuage the guilt of selfishness? Just pretend the situation is beyond salvagable. Problem solved. The selfish people can now live in peace. All I have to say is: Et tu, BET?

So Game 3 was a Fluke...

So Game 3 of the Finals was a fluke to get the NBA some more advertising dollars. You know Massa Stern expects a return on his investment. But I still stand by my prediction that Miami is going nowhere fast. Tonight is Game 4, people. Let's watch with bated breath.

Let me tell you why the NBA finals are OVER!!!

Dwy-Ane Wade is a M.O.P., the NBA's Most Overrated Player. I have a theory about this young man. He is a drama queen. Why? Because he's really not that good. So he pretends to be ill or hurt during games to get the fans and the media on his side and to disarm his opponents. I wish somebody would document all his "illnesses" and "bumps and bruises." I bet they come in games when the other team has a pretty good defense or when a team happens to be defending him particularly well. Considering how good Dallas' defense is, Wade is going to milk the crap out of this whole "flu" bit. Just watch, kiddies. That trophy is as good as Dallas'. I do not see Miami winning game 3. Don't shoot the messenger. Blame that drama queen, M.O.P of a player also known as Dwy-Ane Wade.

About My Random Hiatus

To My Two Readers out there in Cyberspace:

I apologize for the random hiatus I have been on for over a month. Graduation loomed large over my head in May; and, I had to make sure I was apart of the grand exeunt from school.

---Yours Truly