Recent News From The Homeland Atrocity Department

NOTICE: Some may marvel at the length of this list, but what amazes me is its brevity. In all likelihood, these news items represent the tip of the iceberg of official crime and corruption. However, please remember that these news items were selected from the Google internet news, and that just because something is reported in the news does not mean it is true. By the same token however, just because something is not reported in the news does not mean it did not happen. For all we know every person mentioned here is completely innocent. By inalienable right, a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, even if the government chooses to ignore this right.

Note: The motivations for this compilation of the news are several:

• To highlight the inevitably corrupting effects on society in general and the justice system in particular resulting from the many "victimless crime laws" (laws such as the now repealed Alcohol Prohibition, as well as laws outlawing narcotics, gambling, prostitution, pornography, firearm possession, and every other law restricting contracts or mutually-satisfactory arrangements between consenting adults.)
• To alert citizens to the imminent danger of the encroaching paramilitary police state wherein we sacrifice out liberties and our right to self-defense but find outselves at greater danger from official miscreants and gangsters with badges than we are from terrorists.
• To help shine the light on government's desire to hide in the shadow of official secrecy. The best disinfectant is sunlight!

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Your new police state...
Supreme Court: Car Searches Allowed After Suspect Exits
Wired News - 21 minutes ago
... cocaine in Thornton's pocket. The officer arrested him and put him in the back of the police car. Nichols then searched Thornton's ...

High Court: Police Can Search Parked Cars
KATC, LA - 1 hour ago
... and got out. The officer arrested Thornton after he found marijuana and crack cocaine in Thornton's pocket. After handcuffing Thornton ...

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

Area Briefs
Houston Chronicle, TX - May 22, 2004
... with the accident. A Houston police officer arrested Friday night and charged with bribery has posted $10,000 bail. The officer, Ariel ...

Charges against cop upheld
Milford Daily News, MA - May 22, 2004
... MacNaughton's complaint alleges Griffin used excessive force on Feb. 21, when the officer arrested him at his 23 Kingsley Lane home around 1 am. ...

History professor killed in accident
Contra Costa Times, CA - May 21, 2004
... Zelnik was a junior professor at Berkeley in 1964 when a police officer arrested a student for distributing political literature. ...

ury selection to begin in trial of ex-police officer in shooting ...
Fort Worth Star Telegram (subscription), TX - 10 hours ago
Jury selection in the trial of a Mineral Wells police officer indicted by a Palo Pinto grand jury in August in the shooting death of a 22-year-old Hudson Oaks ...

Former NOPD Officer Indicted In Bank Robbery Plot
New Orleans Channel.com, LA - May 21, 2004
NEW ORLEANS -- A five-year veteran of the New Orleans police force and his alleged accomplice were indicted Friday for their roles in a plot to rob a local bank ...

Auburn SGA Officer Indicted On Forged Document
NBC13.com, AL - May 21, 2004
AUBURN, Ala. -- A Lee County grand jury has indicted Auburn University's Student Government Association vice president for criminal ...

CRIME & JUSTICE
Washington Post, DC - May 21, 2004
... Officer indicted: A DC police officer has been indicted on two charges of simple assault and one charge of filing a false police report, prosecutors announced ...

A different police look
San Francisco Chronicle, CA - May 21, 2004
... of cops or civilians -- especially for a panel inheriting an agency with long-standing structural problems, including officer misconduct, weak internal ...


5 on panel defend SROs
Cedartown Standard, GA - May 20, 2004
... unjustified and vicious.”. The accusations of officer misconduct were brought up by board member Frank Plant. He listed several ...

St. Paul Officer Suspended after Leaving Shooting
KARE, MN - May 22, 2004
Authorities say a ten-year veteran St. Paul police officer who left a bar after a fatal shooting will not be fired. Police Chief ...

Officer suspended one day for racial slur
South Florida Sun-Sentinel, FL - May 22, 2004
By Angel Streeter. A Royal Palm Beach police officer was disciplined earlier this month for using a racial epithet during a taped ...

Man Alleges Police Brutality, False Arrest
Officer.com - May 21, 2004
... He and his wife met with their attorney Thursday and planned to file suit against Streamwood police. They also want to see the officer suspended. ...

Cop charged with payoff goes to court
KHOU (Subscription), TX - 4 hours ago
HOUSTON -- Today we may learn more about a Houston police officer charged with bribery. Officer Ariel Cuellar is expected in court Monday morning. ...

Former Columbia community safety officer charged with 2 more ...
WIS, SC - May 22, 2004
(Columbia-AP) May 22, 2004 - A former community safety officer has been charged with two more counts of molesting schoolchildren. ...


For the Record
Salt Lake Tribune, UT - May 22, 2004
... A former Utah State Prison officer charged with smuggling contraband into prison -- including cigarettes, a DVD player, cell phone, printer and a handgun ...

Abu Ghraib "softening" techniques came from Afghanistan
Mathaba.Net, Africa - May 21, 2004
... its officers are named in military court documents as being among witnesses being sought by a lawyer defending a military police officer charged in connection ...


Malden police officer charged in drug bust
Boston.com, MA - May 21, 2004
By Boston.com Staff | May 21, 2004. A Malden police department detective was one of four men arrested late Thursday on drug dealing charges. ...

POLICE SHOOTINGS: 6 YEARS, 37 KILLED
Orlando Sentinel (subscription), FL - 7 hours ago
... driver because he said the driver was trying to run him down -- but all seven witnesses told investigators the car was driving away when the officer fired. ...

Henrico Police Shooting
WRIC TV, VA - 9 hours ago
... what happened. No one is sure who the man was, why he was in the neighborhood, or why the officer fired a fatal shot. Police expect ...


State agrees to pay SJ family of inmate
San Jose Mercury News (subscription), CA - May 22, 2004
... That inmate left and Perez and Halliwell came to blows. The relief officer fired a warning shot of non-lethal wood blocks. According ...


Deputy arrested for using fraudulent prescriptions
Daytona Beach News-Journal, FL - May 21, 2004
ST. AUGUSTINE -- A St. Johns County corrections deputy was arrested for using fraudulent prescriptions to get painkillers after ...

Ex-Adams deputy sentenced
Rocky Mountain News, CO - May 22, 2004
By Hector Gutierrez, Rocky Mountain News. BRIGHTON - A former Adams County sheriff's deputy was sentenced to a year of probation ...

Deputy suspended while death investigated
Record-Searchlight, CA - May 21, 2004
By Christina Lucarotti, Record Searchlight. A Shasta County sheriff's deputy remains suspended without pay pending an investigation ...

Trial in murder-for-hire plot begins
KING5.com (subscription), WA - 1 hour ago
By LINDA BRILL / KING 5 News. SEATTLE - Opening statements began Monday in the trial of former King County Sheriff's deputy charged in a murder-for-hire plot. ...

Officers helped topple Hege
Greensboro News Record, NC - May 21, 2004
... In March, deputies fired at a loose bull in Tyro more than a dozen times in an incident that some neighbors called unnecessary. ...

Deputy trying to scare off Tahoe bear accidently kills it
Contra Costa Times, CA - May 22, 2004
... Rick Armstrong said. Unfortunately, a live round was mistakenly placed in the gun so when the deputy fired, it struck the bear and killed it, Armstrong said. ...

Calif. bear cub accidentially killed
Washington Times, DC - May 21, 2004
... the sheriff. When the bear left the house and sat down in a patch of daffodils to eat its meal, the deputy fired. The "aversion ...

Deputy Fired for Lying
WTVM, GA - May 21, 2004
A Sumter County Sheriff's Deputy is out of work, after reportedly lying to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Sheriff Robert Ingle ...

Deputy gets his job back
Tallahassee Democrat, FL - May 21, 2004
By Tony Bridges. A Leon County sheriff's deputy fired earlier this month is back on the job following a Sheriff's Office hearing. ...

Patrol given high marks for the way it handled allegations
Seattle Times, WA - May 23, 2004
Cases similar to that of a State Patrol trooper arrested Friday on allegations of sexual assault have been reported hundreds of times in the past 14 years ...

Trooper accused of fondling women he stopped for DUI
Seattle Post Intelligencer, WA - May 21, 2004
By KRISTEN GELINEAU. SEATTLE -- A Washington State Patrol trooper was arrested Friday, accused of having sexual contact with seven ...

New Jersey To Require Officers To Learn Racial Profiling ...
Officer.com - May 21, 2004
... It came after the state agreed to federal oversight in December 1999, more than a year after two troopers fired on a van carrying four unarmed minority men on ...  ("Oh, good")

Fed. agent charged with perjury in Stewart case
CTV, Canada - May 21, 2004
NEW YORK — Federal authorities charged a key prosecution witness in the Martha Stewart trial Friday with lying on the witness stand, but said the false ..

Ex-detective gets 13-month term for taking protection money
Newsday, NY - 1 hour ago
... authorities said. D'Agosta, 47, of Jersey City, has also pleaded guilty in state court to a single count of official misconduct. As ...

The Dysfunctional Anti-Drug Agencies
The Narco News Bulletin - 6 hours ago
... Gonzalez was clued into the potential corruption after receiving a memo from one of his agents outlining “apparent official misconduct … and violations of ...

Reviews get bad review: Audit criticizes internal reviews by ...
The Register-Guard, Oregon - May 23, 2004
... One of them, Juan Francisco Lara, was convicted in February of coercion, harassment and official misconduct involving 10 women and one man. ...

NJ's women inmates tell their own stories of abuse
Newark Star Ledger, NJ - May 22, 2004
... According to county records, Bradley was fired and charged with sexual assault, criminal sexual contact and official misconduct. ...

Bikers Bring Formal Protest To DPS
KXAN-TV, TX - May 21, 2004
They are upset with what they call unfair treatment from DPS troopers. The bikers complain of official misconduct, discrimination and oppression. ... (I think they call them "Texas Rangers" when they're good, and when they're bad they call them "DPS".)

Trial into LDC abuse charges to move
Lincoln Courier, IL - May 21, 2004
... is charged with two counts of aggravated battery, two counts of official misconduct and one count of criminal neglect of a disabled person, all Class III ...

Police sergeant quits after internal affairs review
Florida Today, FL - May 21, 2004
... Steve Hunt, who joined the West Melbourne Police Department in 1996, resigned Tuesday after the internal investigation on official misconduct allegations was ...

County sheriff's deputy faces charges of misconduct, tampering ...
Hillsboro Argus, OR - May 20, 2004
Bill James, 38, was cited on Wednesday to appear on June 9 in Washington County Circuit Court on charges of official misconduct and tampering with evidence. ...

The Groveland Four' Finally Heard
PR Newswire (press release) - 4 hours ago
... constructed his account by tapping the vivid memories of people who lived through the terrifying nightmares of bloodthirsty mobs and harsh police brutality. ...

Police-abuse panel falls prey to Norristown infighting
Philadelphia Inquirer (subscription), PA - 13 hours ago
... 2003. Since then, the group has not addressed any reports of police brutality. It has not taken in any formal complaints. Local ...


Acquittals don't alter doubts on city's cops
DetNews.com, MI - 16 hours ago
... Quite another view came from Ron Scott, spokesman for the the Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality, a community group that has pushed for vigorous ...

Man Alleges Police Brutality, False Arrest
Officer.com - May 21, 2004
STREAMWOOD, Ill. -- A couple saw a crime in progress and called police, and now, they are angry about how police responded. Anthony ...

Detroit police officers acquitted of corruption charges
Boston Herald, MA - May 21, 2004
... street. Ron Scott, a spokesman for the Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality, called the acquittals ``outrageous.''. ``These ...

Federal Suit Filed In Texas Arrest Shooting
Officer.com - 5 hours ago
... Patrick Woodson, Childress' attorney, said he is sure that Ortega violated his client's constitutional rights and used excessive force in unnecessary actions ...

Judge: Officers didn't provide medical help to dying man
Newark Advocate, OH - 7 hours ago
... Owensby family. The family opted out of a settlement of 16 lawsuits alleging racial profiling and excessive force by police. Mayor ...

Union Keeps Tight Rein on Prisons
ktla 5, United States - 14 hours ago
... It once spent thousands of dollars in legal fees to fight a $600 penalty imposed on an officer accused of excessive force and dishonesty. ...

Special 'integrity squad' hunts for crooked cops
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, PA - 17 hours ago
... of about $770,000, must look into every citizen's complaint against an officer, from allegations that a cop used foul language to accusations of excessive force ...  (...NOW...we need a squad to investigate the Integrity Squad...volunteers?)

9 US prison deaths probed as homicides
Raleigh News, NC - May 23, 2004
... Iraq who threw rocks at him. The soldier was punished and dismissed from the Army for using excessive force. The 10 cases are among ...

A deadly but legal license to kill
Orlando Sentinel (subscription), FL - May 23, 2004
... imminent danger.". An internal investigation accused the officers of excessive force, and sheriff's officials wanted to fire them. They ...

Judge to decide if deputy has trial on assault charge
Modesto Bee, CA - May 21, 2004
... Assistant Sheriff Myron Larson said his office gets a handful of complaints about excessive force each year and investigates each one. ...

5/22 Lawsuit filed in custody death case
Corsicana Daily Sun, TX - May 21, 2004
... Police Department employee Charles Fincher and Navarro County Sheriff's Office employee Brad Gannon subjected Gilbert Hernandez to excessive force resulting in ...

HUTCHINSON: Why the Feds Can't Nail Bad Cops
AlterNet - May 21, 2004
... no excuse for federal prosecutors not to at least make the effort to prosecute more officers when there is substantial evidence that they used excessive force. ...  (asking crooks to investigate crooks is futile....)

Sex charges just part of problem at girls center, some say
Louisville Courier Journal, KY - May 22, 2004
... and had no reason to suspect any wrongdoing — even though Nantell previously had been accused of sexual abuse and use of excessive force against residents. ...

Supervisors: Deputy's lie uncovered by photos
South Florida Sun-Sentinel, FL - 14 hours ago
... his daily activities. Still, he got a five-day suspension and a one-year restriction from working off-duty. The Sheriff's Office ...

Watch for police because they'll be watching for you
Bloomington Pantagraph, IL - 14 hours ago
... helping finance similar operations because the minimum fine for speeding in a posted work zone is $200, including a $50 fee that helps pay off-duty troopers to ...

Massachusetts Board to Discuss Pension Request of Convicted ...
Officer.com - May 22, 2004
... 1990. Accetta, who was off duty, was hit in the face with a paper coaster. He took out a handgun and fired two warning shots. Brennan ...

Ravens' Fuller gets additional charges
Charlotte Observer (subscription), NC - May 22, 2004
... friend. Then, Sheriff Larry Campbell fired two Leon County deputies Fuller had paid to provide off-duty security at his home. One ...

Malden officer faces drug-conspiracy charges
Boston Globe, MA - May 22, 2004
... detective. Jordan, who was off duty at the time, was called to the State Police barracks at Wellington Circle in Medford and arrested. ...

Officers accused of improprieties after bar fight
Canton Repository (subscription), OH - May 22, 2004
CANTON — Police cruiser videotape shows an off-duty police officer stepping out of a building and running toward the police car that held the handcuffed man ...

The Peoples Forum
Petersburg Progress Index, VA - May 21, 2004
... Wearing one's uniform and acting under the authority of one's position, even when one is off duty and using a county-owned vehicle to solicit votes is ...

Cop Sex Scandal, 8 Officers Disciplined
KABC, CA - May 21, 2004
... Five other officers were punished for minor personnel violations on and off duty such as engaging in inappropriately sexual workplace conversations. ...

Deputy's patrol vehicle stolen
Pasadena Star-News, CA - May 21, 2004
... stolen cruiser through Orange County and into Riverside at speeds of more than 110 mph after it was spotted three hours later by an off-duty Montebello police ...

Moline officer put on leave after retirement party dispute
Quad-Cities Online, IL - May 21, 2004
... Patrick was placed on leave Wednesday while the department conducts an internal investigation and the Illinois State Police investigate to see if any criminal ...

Clarksville police chief arrested
Paris News, TX - May 21, 2004
... As of early Friday, the police chief had not been relieved of his duty. Townsend had not been suspended or placed on leave. City ...

10 state workers charged in probe
Richmond Times Dispatch, VA - May 20, 2004
... further questions. In contrast, nearly 100 state social-services employees had been placed on leave because of discrepancies. "All ...

Classified Data Missing From Los Alamos Lab
The New Mexico Channel.com, NM - May 20, 2004
... There was another security investigation at Los Alamos that made headlines last December when several lab employees were placed on leave after an inventory ...

Man who aided ex-cop in drug theft sentenced
WLS, IL - May 21, 2004
May 21, 2004 — A man has been sentenced to eight years in prison for teaming up with a Chicago police officer in May 2001 to rob a gang leader of marijuana ...

Deputies: Image ruled Hege
Greensboro News Record, NC - May 23, 2004
... This time, Hege could not entirely duck negative publicity about "dirty cops" on his watch. His political enemies were salivating. ...

Prosecutor says ex-NY labor official acted as lobbyist for friend
Newsday, NY - 9 minutes ago
... McGowan, 66, of Yorktown, is charged with mail fraud, conspiracy, bribery, filing false tax returns and lying on a mortgage application. ...

Impeach the President of the United States!
Collective Bellaciao, France - 5 hours ago
... Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high ...  (and then hold war crimes trials ... and carry out the lawful sentences in Firdas Square...)

Trial could be opening act of state contracts probe
WATE, TN - 8 hours ago
Their names keep popping up at the bribery and fraud case against Joanna Ediger, who as a state official helped Stamps secure a lucrative contract in 1999 for ...

Feds Take Over Householder Campaign Probe
WBNS, United States - May 23, 2004
... to Ohio’s two US attorneys. It included allegations of bribery, tax and mail fraud, and kickbacks. The memo alleged that Van-Voorhis ...

Police, fire pension fund trustees accused of wrongdoing
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH - May 23, 2004
Investigators have found possible felony and misdemeanor violations including bribery, having an unlawful interest in a public contract and theft in office ...

No bids taken for major project
Cherry Hill Courier Post, NJ - May 23, 2004
... But corruption marred the boom, and two former mayors and two former borough council members were indicted on bribery and conspiracy charges in 1976. ...

State budget stalemate drags on
The Journal News.com, NY - May 22, 2004
... Albany hotel room. The Senate bade farewell to an 18-year incumbent headed for jail on a bribery charge. Gov. George Pataki? He took ...

Kickback trial is set for ex-councilmen
San Antonio Express (subscription), TX - May 21, 2004
... In November, US District Judge Royal Furgeson tabled the case while the US Supreme Court considered a challenge to the federal bribery statute. ...

Titan Worker Named in Taguba Report Terminated -Source
Reuters - May 21, 2004
... come at a time investors and analysts are questioning whether Lockheed Martin Corp.'s plan to buy Titan will fall apart due to an earlier bribery probe. ...

Jury hears secret FBI tape of contracts bribery trial defendant
WATE, TN - May 21, 2004
... former state official Joanna Ediger. Ediger is being tried on federal charges of bribery and fraud. Prosecutors say she lied to ...

Former Prison Guard Cops Plea In Heroin Distribution Scheme
NBC4.TV, CA - May 21, 2004
... In exchange for the plea, the United States attorney's office agreed to drop other charges of bribery and possession of drugs with intent to distribute. ...

Court Says Judge Should Review Former Prosecutor's Records
WKYT, KY - May 21, 2004
... of procuring perjury. Collins also resigned from the bar after he pleaded guilty to a felony bribery charge. Prosecutors had said ...

Senate leader postpones vote on budget resolution
GovExec.com - May 21, 2004
... A Senate Democratic aide said the chamber's failure to approve the budget resolution "shows that the Tom DeLay tactics of bullying, bribery and bombast just don ...

Worker testifies against Ediger in corruption trial
The Tennessean, TN - May 21, 2004
... of then-Gov. Don Sundquist. Ediger was indicted in March on charges of fraud, bribery and making false statements. Her defense is ...

Bush and the Global Campaign of Torture
Revolutionary Worker Online, IL - 16 hours ago
... In a Pentagon briefing, the US Army acknowledged at least 37 cases where prisoners died in custody -- 32 in Iraq and five in Afghanistan. ...

UNITED STATES: Army bulletin says sack the brass
Green Left, Australia - May 23, 2004
... In addition to the scores of prisoners who were humiliated and demeaned, at least 14 died in custody in Iraq and Afghanistan. ...

Jack Miles explains why Christian ethics demand we treat ...
Beliefnet.com, NY - May 20, 2004
... death in custody. His most influential followers, Peter and Paul, were also prisoners. They too died in custody. John the Baptist ...

State group's report says task forces target minorities
Houston Chronicle, TX - 16 hours ago
... Gov. Rick Perry eventually pardoned 35 of those prosecuted. Tom Coleman, a member of the task force, is currently awaiting trial on perjury charges. ...

Worker says airline ignored his warnings
Dallas Morning News (subscription), TX - 18 hours ago
... If we can't stop him from telling the truth and join the cover-up and commit perjury, Joe White must not only be fired, ladies and gentlemen, but must be ...

New Bedford-area crime boss gets 12 years
Boston Herald, MA - 2 hours ago
... investigating the Mello operation. Officer David LaFleur was charged last week with obstructing justice and perjury. He allegedly provided ...

Brownwood Bulletin
Brownwood Bulletin, TX - May 23, 2004
... He had been set to stand trial June 7 on charges of perjury, tampering with evidence and tampering with government records, but those charges are being dropped ...

Former Oklahoma Sheriff, Wife And Stepdaughter To Surrender In ...
Officer.com - May 23, 2004
... Oklahoma felony. The Osmonds have been bound over for trial on the Oklahoma charges, and Larry Osmond faces a perjury count. They ...

Former deputy's claim dismissed
Topeka Capital Journal, KS - May 22, 2004
... Barta fired Good in April 2000 after he was charged in Shawnee County District Court with two counts of perjury alleging he knew his best friend and partner ...

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CopWatch Explosion in the U.S.

Excerpt:

It is now a phenomenon. CopWatch organizations are being set up all over America, by ordinary citizens, driven to police the police, in grassroots community efforts. Portland (portlandcopwatch.org, rosecitycopwatch.org), Austin (geocities.com/austincopwatch), NYC (http://mediafilter.org/MFF/CopWatch.html), Santa Cruz (santacruzcopwatch.org), Cincinnati, Phoenix (phoenixcopwatch.org), Berkeley (http://www.berkeleycopwatch.org/), Tucson (tucsoncopwatch.com), Denver (denvercopwatch.org), and more, have CopWatch organizations in their cities. And CopWatch groups are networking and training each other. Berkeley CopWatch came down to Santa Cruz to help their community start a CopWatch. Texas Copwatch (www.aclutx.org/projects/police/copwatchblotter) describes Copwatch as "a group of ordinary people who observe and record police activity on the streets. We do this because we believe that police brutality is widespread in our communities and that the only way to stop it is to challenge it directly." Berkeley�s CopWatch describes itself as a community based volunteer organization that �monitors police activity in the Southside neighborhood, and elsewhere, in an effort to defend the rights of all citizens, especially those who live on the street, who are people of color, or are otherwise disenfranchised. Everyone has a right to fair treatment under the law. Copwatch also carries out campaigns and distributes educational material geared at ending institutionalized injustice and police misconduct in our communities.�

Some of the CopWatch organizers are mothers whose sons were brutally murdered by police, and have been given no justifiable reason for their son�s death. Their sons� deaths haunt them daily, hourly. There sons� shadows follow their every step. And I have to admit, when I heard their cumulative stories at the October 22 Coalition National Convention (www.october22.org) in 2003, I cried hard, as mother after mother told the same story, with the same ending, �Where is my son?� There but by the grace of God go I. These brave mothers and fathers told their personal stories of loss and frustration with police departments all over America (www.stolenlives.org). Other communities have created CopWatch activities due to police harassment of protest movements. And some, such as myself, have come to feel a need to protect myself and family from a rogue, vigilante, state police force that hides its name tags and badges while on duty. The very fact that the police on public streets ABHOR being identified is enough for me to have serious concerns about my safety near them. I think all police should have to wear florescent names on their backs like football players� jerseys. And I can give you example after example of the Seattle Police literally making fools of themselves, trying to not be identified, as required by law (Seattle Muni Code 3.28 to be exact), which really breaks down to me giving you example after example of Seattle Police breaking the law.

��I will wander around barefoot I will have a psychedelic gleam in my eye at all times I will love everyone I will love the police as they kick the shit out of me on the Street�� � Frank Zappa

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