BRITNEY JUMPS THE SHARK AND PLUMMETS TO OBLIVION

Yikes. Did any of you guys catch the latest Britney Spears photos? Spears has spent a while at the top of the list of women who men would most like to see naked. But now it turns out that, like the whole two-women-one-man scenario, the fantasy is better (trust me on this) than the reality.... Jesus Christ, what was she thinking?
Well, this just goes to support my suspicion that her stardom was nothing more than a slick PR campaign to craft an all-American girl pop star out of trailer trash and rake in the money.
Now with just a couple flashes of her long sought-after beaver, her career as a pop-singer to teenieboppers is done. Kaput. Paws Up. Mr. an Mrs. American Mommie and Daddy almost certainly don't want the little girls to emulate some pop tart who transitions from a teen idol who sing for a living to one who encourges papparazi to give her a curbside gynocological examination.... and you just know this wasn't just an instant of her being accidentally caught in an awkward position.... not with the possibility of her soon to be ex shopping a four hour long sex tape around to various media outlets, with a reported asking price of $50 million. No, someone must have sugestted to her that the tape would plummet in value if she showed the goodies before he did. And that may be true, but she should propably thought about the collateral damage to her admittedly flagging career. Now she joins the ranks of people like her new buddy Paris Hilton and Pamela Anderson... still famous, but for what?.... I just bet her mom and dad are so proud of her.

COPS ARE SPECIAL: PART II

In yet another example of cops getting special treatment at the bar of justice, the AP wire reports today that a former Hurlock cop will not face prosecution even thought prosecutors believe he sexually assaulted an eight-year-old girl. That's right.... the state is perfectly willing to let a child rapist off the hook, apparently because he was a cop.... The story cited no reason the prosecutor and court agreeing to a plan that would have Robert Allen Sellers Jr., 32, attend counseling for a minimum of six months, and be on probation. According to the story, if Sellers abides by they terms of his release, the state will drop the charges after three years. Other conditions include a prohibition against his being around children unless supervised and a loss of his certificate with the Maryland Police Training Commission.
What happened to the state's commitment to prosecute child molesters? What happened the it's obligation to protect children, families and communities? What happened to justice and punishment for the worst kind of offenders? Why isn't Seller's up in Jessup right now getting acquainted with all of his new cellblock boyfriends, who would tune up both his head and his ass?
You don't have to tell me, I know. Cops are special.

JOE GETS HIS ASS KICKED (OUT) AGAIN

Is it again? I really don't know... in any event, ol' Joe from across the river, says some dude had him escorted from some sort of meeting of Salisbury public officials last night.... Poor ol' Joe... he's been a real pain-in-the-ass to the city council.... but that's a good thing.... and I can't help but notice that he knows how to research the law..... maybe he needs to research the state Open Meetings Act.... If he does, he'll find out that no member of the public may be barred from an open meeting unless they are disruptive to the meeting. Further, he discover that observers may photograph, videotape or record open meetings.... with that in mind, it behooves him to carry a tape recorder and record all conversations with elected official... just in case one of them errorneously tells police he was threatened and asks to have Joe removed... those tape recorders come in real handy if he ever need to file a complaint with the Open Meetings Board.

RULES OF ENGAGEMENT: SOMEONE'S GOT SOME 'SPLAININ' TO DO

Three guys got whacked in New York City last weekend, and that's not unusual. But what is unusual is that the hit was done by cops.
Yeah, I know the first graf is inflamatory and wouldn't get by any news editor worthy of the title, but it doesn't necessarily mean it's inaccurate. According to news reports, the cops, who were all in street clothes, claim that the vehicle in which the men were riding struck a minivan full of the UCs, and it was after the vehicle backed up an struck it again that five of the seven cops present opened fire... 50 times. Here, I have to wonder if the cops discharged all 50 rounds before they realized that no one was shooting back, or if they stopped shooting in order to reload, or if maybe they just got tired of shooting. In any event, the guys that were shot were unarmed, this despite one news report that said cops were acting on a tip that one or more of them had a gun.... I gotta tell ya, the more complex this story becomes, the less believable it becomes.
In fairness, there are more than a couple possible scenarios by which this whole thing could have unfolded, but none of them make the cops look good. ... The thing about street cops is that they are herd animals, like sheep, or cows or a high-school football team in that they back each other up, right or wrong. And top some degree that's both a necessity and understandable -- except if they lie for one another. And it is in just such circumstances as these that the herd mentality comes into play and all it takes for an arrest to degenerate into a firefight is one cop to get excited or scared and start busting caps. If that happens, the other cops will too, because they trust their safety and lives to their fellow cops and if he fired then they have to believe that he saw a immediate threat that others didn't and they need to protect him.
Of course, this does not excuse or even mitigate their culpability in a reckless use of their weapons.
But don't look for any real sanctions against the shooters. They are, after all, cops and that group has done a lot PR to persuade the public they are heroes and flawless in their judgement. Oh, some may be demoted, and some may even lose their jobs, but in all liklihood nobody's going to jail. I mean, it's not like if you or I had shot someone who ran into our car. These are cops -- you know, Heroes.