Theresa Cunningham Duarte, Former Wootton High School Teacher Charged With Selling Cocaine to Students

Apparently teacher Theresa Cunningham Duarte, who was entrusted with the welfare of our children, was bent on introducing them to a life of drugs. The former Montgomery County Public Schools teacher was charged with distributing cocaine to students. Child Protective Services told police Duarte, 44, had provided drugs to Wootton High School students at her home in the 1000 block of Brice Road in Rockville on more than one occasion. The former English and yearbook teacher worked at Wootton for three years and resigned at the end of the 2007-2008 school year. Hmmm, I wonder why?

Detectives said Duarte provided cocaine to students at least twice. According to court documents, Duarte supplied one student with cocaine on two occasions in June. Duarte told detectives that she kept cocaine in the bathroom at her home and gave two students cocaine while still employed by Montgomery County Public Schools.

I wonder how many other kids were victimized by her behavior and one has to wonder what else happened with this woman and the kids she brought to her home. According to media reports, neighbors said they have seen teenagers at Duarte’s home before but assumed she was tutoring them.”But I’d never suspect she was over there selling drugs,” neighbor Richard Daugherty said.

It is shocking that a teacher is accused of selling narcotics to students. Most students look up to their teachers, but it seems that some of our kids are being victimized on so many levels by scumbags and sexual predators who wear the disguise of being a teacher. This is very disturbing and one has to wonder oversights need to be in place to protect our children. Most parents, (I say most because some parents are not an integral part of their children’s education), trust the teachers are doing their job and you have faith in their expertise, as well as trusting the school system in its evaluation and oversight of teachers, but this has left a black mark on this school system. This is a travesty and I hope this woman gets a lengthy prison term. The school district said Duarte, like all other teachers, passed background check, but that’s not the only test to administer. So, she has never been arrested, does that automatically disqualify her from being a bad teacher? Did no-one notice how close she was to the students? Come on.

Duarte was arrested and charged with two counts of distribution of a controlled dangerous substance and two counts of contributing to conditions of a child. She was released on a $150,000 bond. During the 2003-2004 school year, Duarte was a substitute teacher at Einstein High School in Kensington. She was hired as a full-time teacher at Wootton in Rockville in July 2004.

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Malcolm Moulton, 17, and Daryle Wesley, 18, Arrested for Allegedly Using Counterfeit $10 at School Book Store

How stupid can you be? According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, two star football players at Central Gwinnett High School were arrested for forgery this week, allegedly using counterfeit $10 bills at the high school’s book store. Oh gee, how smart! They are the second and third Black Knights players this month to run afoul of the law.

According to police reports, Malcolm Alvin Moulton, 17, and Daryle Davon Wesley, 18, both seniors, allegedly used $30 in counterfeit bills Monday to make a purchase at the book store.

The bills were spotted by a faculty member, who later alerted school resource officer Wes Hardin about the bogus money. The officer investigated the incident.“He noticed the serial numbers were the same on all three bills, and that security markings and measures were missing,” said Jorge Quintana, spokesperson for Gwinnett Schools. A video camera had taped their transaction.

Moulton and Wesley were arrested Monday and charged as adults with first-degree forgery, a felony. Folks, if proven guilty, they have managed to ruin their lives at such a young age. Wow, this is pitiful and if guilty, they ought to be punished just for being stupid.

Moulton and Wesley will join running back Diante Drake on the bench. Drake was arrested Aug. 4 on alleged marijuana possession charges, his second such offense in nine months, the first one occurring Dec. 1, 2007.

Moulton is a wide receiver with the Black Knights who caught 40 passes for 545 yards last year and scored five touchdowns. Wesley, a linebacker, ranked second in the county last year in tackling, with 137 tackles, when he played for Berkmar High.

I read the coach, Ed Stokes’ statement, below is an excerpt:

Our team motto is “Building Young Men of Character while Striving to Win Championships on the Field of Play”. Given recent events, one might question as to how well that message is being received. However, I am very pleased that the vast majority of our football team is made up of good, upstanding young gentlemen. It is unfortunate that the actions of a few have damaged and severely misrepresented the overall makeup of our program. One of the things we have preached to them is “To whom much is given, much is expected.” When players are blessed with talent, and put in the limelight, that means that there is responsibility that goes with it. Their actions affect not only themselves, but the team, their families, and our program as a whole. I realize that my job as a head coach is in dealing with teenagers who will make mistakes. And while part of my job is to give them a chance to correct themselves and teach them to do right, I will not continually do so and put the rest of our team and our program in jeopardy. Playing football for Central Gwinnett should be an honor and a privilege.

To read the entire statement, CLICK HERE…

His statement is so appropriate and hard-hitting. These young men, if proven guilty, have in essence thrown away their lives for $30 in counterfeit bills and for what?

Filed under: Daryle Wesley, Diante Drake, Malcolm Moulton

Barack Obama Claims A Prize Never Held by a Black American, He is the Democratic Presidential Nominee

Though I disagree with some of Barack Obama’s positions, nonetheless, I was moved to tears when he claimed a prize never held by a black American. He has broken down tremendous barriers to become the Democratic presidential nomination on Wednesday as thousands of national convention delegates stood and cheered his improbable triumph.

Former rival Hillary Rodham Clinton asked the convention delegates to make it unanimous “in the spirit of unity, with the goal of victory.” And they did, with a roar. For all those people who gave her a hard time over her speech last night, I say, what do you have to say now? Mrs. Clinton did what she had to do. I admire her for her tenacity and her determination to break some of the same barriers Barack Obama broke. She is a role model to young women. Both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have, in essence, shown us and young people of all races and ethnic backgrounds that it is okay to dream BIG.

So, I must salute him for making us proud as blacks in America. This what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. dreamed about and yearned for in his short life. This is the same vision John F. Kennedy had before his life was cut short. I am happy that we have achieved such a feat in American history, that has been fraught with such painful experiences of blacks in this country. Yet, America has come a long way. Today we have blacks occupying many high-power positions in government and the private sector. Barack Obama’s achievement highlights what our young people can achieve with the right tools. Blacks have to take responsibility for the choices they make. Some of our young black men and women have to learn to rise above their circumstances, much like Barack Obama, John Lewis, Marvin Arrington, and so many other great black leaders have done. This is a poignant moment in our history and I am proud to be an American, even if by way of naturalization.

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David Tuason, Who Wrote 200 Racist Letters Over 20 Years Sentenced to Four Years in Federal Prison

Scumbag David Tuason, who wrote more than 200 racist, threatening letters over 20 years, was sentence to nearly four years in federal prison. Tuason, 46, threatened to stab, castrate and blow up black men who associated with white women.

Tuason sent letters to black professional and student athletes, coaches, musicians, police, attorneys, businesses and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, prosecutors said. He sent the letters between 1988 and 2008.

One less scumbag to worry about!

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American Idol Winner Ruben Studdard Reportedly Broke

I take no joy in people having financial difficulties because we all have been down that road at some point on our lives, but what is with these so-called celebrities and living large on the hog. The latest to literally go belly-up is Ruben Studdard. According to media reports, he is broke. Actually, he was never rich, in my opinion, but he came into some money after winning American Idol.

It has been reported that he owes the IRS and state close to $200,000 in taxes. According to MSNBC, he owes the federal government $171,920 in unpaid income taxes, according to a lien filed in Jefferson County Circuit Court. He also owes $21,730 in state income taxes.

The majority of Studdard’s unpaid taxes stem from 2003, the year he won American Idol, and a $1 million recording contract. He owes $19,581 in state income taxes and $163,836 in federal taxes for the period ended Dec. 31, 2003, court records show.

You cannot run from the IRS when you owe them money. Look at Wesley Snipes! They will find you and press charges against you if you fail to work out a payment arrangement with them. His management said that he has no money worries. Hello, people, if he had no money woes, he would have paid it. At least that’s what I think. Let me echo the words of Gwen Guthrie’s No Romance without finance….

Bill collectors at my door
What can you do for me
Hey

No romance without finance
No romance without finance

Boy, nothin’ in life is free
That’s why I’m askin’ you what can you do for me
I’ve got responsibilities
So I’m lookin’ for a man whose got money in his hands

‘Cause nothin’ from nothin’ leaves nothin’
You got to have somethin’ if you wanna be with me
Oh, life is too serious, love’s too mysterious
A fly girl like me needs security

‘Cause ain’t nothin’ goin’ on but the rent
You got to have a J-O-B if you wanna be with me
Ain’t nothin’ goin’ on but the rent
You got to have a J-O-B if you wanna be with me

No romance without finance
I said no romance without finance

Boy, you’re silky ways are sweet
But you’re only wastin’ time if your pockets are empty
I’ve got lots of love to give
But I will have to avoid you if you’re unemployed

‘Cause nothin’ from nothin’ leaves nothin’
You got to have somethin’ if you wanna be with me
‘Cause life is too serious, love’s too mysterious
A fly girl like me needs security

‘Cause ain’t nothin’ goin’ on but the rent
You got to have a J-O-B if you wanna be with me
Ain’t nothin’ goin’ on but the rent
You got to have a J-O-B if you wanna be with me

No romance without finance
I said no romance without finance
No romance without finance
I said no romance without finance

Oh, you look good to me
Your silky words are sweet
But your pockets sure look empty

Ooh, nothin’ from nothin’ leaves nothin’
You got to have somethin’ if you wanna be with me
Whoa, life is too serious, love’s too mysterious
A fly girl like me needs security
I said life is too serious, love’s too mysterious
Fly girl like me needs security

‘Cause ain’t nothin’ goin’ on but the rent
You got to have a J-O-B if you wanna be with me
Ain’t nothin’ goin’ on but the rent
You got to have a J-O-B if you wanna be with me

No romance without finance
No romance without finance
No romance without finance
I said no romance without finance

What can you do for me
Oh, you look good to me
Your silky words are sweet
But your pockets sure look empty

Ain’t nothin’ goin’ on but the rent

I’m lookin’ for a man to put some money in my hands…..

He’s not the only “famous” person caught in this trap. They live too large on borrowed goods. Come on people, do better than that!

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Federal Illegal Immigrant Raid on Mississippi Plant the Biggest in U.S. History

Finally the government is beginning to crack down on illegal immigration. Too bad President Bush decided to do something about it right before he leaves office and during the presidential election campaign. Well, I have to give some credit to ICE for staging the biggest single-workplace immigration raid in U.S. history yesterday. No doubt, this raid has caused a great deal of panic among Hispanic families in the small southern town of Laurel, Mississippi, where it took place. Federal agents rounded up nearly 600 plant workers at Howard Industries transformer plant. Federal officials said a tip from a union member prompted them to start investigating several years ago.

About 100 of the 595 detained workers were released for humanitarian reasons, many of them mothers who were fitted with electronic monitoring bracelets and allowed to go home to their children, officials said. About 475 other workers were transferred to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Jena, La. Nine who were under 18 were transferred to the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement.

John Foxworth, an attorney representing some of the immigrants, said eight appeared in federal court in Hattiesburg on Tuesday because they face criminal charges for allegedly using false Social Security and residency identification. He said the raid was traumatic for families.

“There was no communication, an immediate loss of any kind of news and a lack of understanding of what’s happening to their loved ones,” he said. “A complete and utter feeling of helplessness.” Those detained were from Brazil, El Salvador, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, and Peru.

On May 12, federal immigration officials swept into Agriprocessors, the nation’s largest kosher meatpacking plant, in Iowa. Nearly 400 workers were detained and dozens of fraudulent permanent resident alien cards were seized from the plant’s human resources department, according to court records. In December 2006, 1,297 were arrested at Swift meatpacking plants in Nebraska and five other states.

Some of the illegal immigrants involved have said they were traumatized. What do these people expect the government to do? We cannot continue taking care of these people. I think that those who have been here for several years and have no criminal record should be given work permits and the others sent back to their country. I am an immigrant from Jamaica, but my family came here legally. I don’t care which country they come from, if you are here illegally, you need to pay the price in some way–either deportation or fines. Yes, they provide a very necessary service, but at what cost will the government continue to turn a blind eye to a growing and dire problem?

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Harvard University to Scrutinize Campus Police after Complaints from Black Students, Professors

The last thing Harvard University needs is to have news filter out about the campus people unfairly stopping black students and faculty, but it is very necessary to address this issue. According to the Boston Herald, Harvard will launch an examination of the campus police department after complaints that officers have unfairly stopped black students, professors, and other university community members because of their race. In an email to senior university administrators and faculty today, President Drew Gilpin Faust announced the creation of a six-member committee to review the police department’s diversity training, community outreach, and recruitment efforts. It will be led by Ralph Martin, former Suffolk County district attorney and managing partner of the Boston office of Bingham McCutchen. At least they are being proactive.

“All of us share an interest in sustaining constructive relations between our campus police and the broader Harvard community, in order to provide a safe and welcoming environment for all faculty, students, staff, and visitors….” Faust wrote in her email. “I am confident that this group’s efforts will help the University address this important set of issues in a constructive spirit and forthright manner.”

According to the Boston Herald, earlier this month officers confronted a person using tools to remove a lock from a locked bicycle. The person, whom others familiar with the case have identified as a black Boston high school student working on the Harvard campus this summer, owned the bicycle, and was trying to cut the lock because the key had broken off in the lock.
Black students and faculty also protested after police interrupted a field day on the Radcliffe Quad in spring 2007 sponsored by the Harvard Black Men’s Forum and the Association of Black Harvard Women. Police asked whether the black student groups had permission to be there.
And in 2004, police stopped a prominent black Harvard professor as he was walking to his office across Harvard Yard because they mistook him for a robbery suspect.

Very, very interesting and I am glad the story got out. People need to know what is going on in their communities, especially where racial issues are concerned.

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Rev. Al Sharpton Says Bill and Hillary Clinton Need Intensify Push for Party Loyalty

So, Rev. Al Sharpton warned the Clintons about their attitude towards Barack Obama. He said that both Senator Clinton and former President Bill Clinton cannot afford anything less than an extraordinary effort to help Barack Obama’s presidential candidacy -– beginning this week with an intensified push for party loyalty. Otherwise, Sharpton warned today, their reputations within the party — once sterling — could be permanently tarnished. “It can damage their legacy in the long run if they don’t get a grip pretty quick,” Sharpton told The Los Angeles Times.

Sharpton’s comments came as many leading Democrats attempt to tamp down reports of festering tensions between the Clinton and Obama camps — and a definite reluctance among some Clinton delegates to stand foursquare behind Obama. Some African American delegates in recent days have complained that the Clintons are giving only lip service in saying they will help Obama, and that they are actually more interested in helping Hillary Clinton plot her next political moves.

As it is, Sharpton added, the racially tinged primary campaign has already hurt the once-tight relationship between the Clintons and black America.“I’d like to see them in the trenches,” Sharpton said. “They did a lot of damage against him, so they’re going to have to do a lot more than the ordinary for him -– not (just) for him but for the public to believe them.”

Okay, let me add my two cents to this. From what I heard last night, Mrs. Clinton reached out to Michelle Obama several times by cell phone and her calls were not returned. It seems to me that Barack Obama is the one running and whether Hillary Clinton tells her supporters, which she did, to support him, the bottom line is that she can’t force them to do anything. Barack Obama is the one who needs to deliver a knock-out punch Thursday when he gives his speech. He’s the one who needs to tell voters what he is about and what he will do for the country. I am beginning to wonder where his backbone is in the grand scheme of things.

Hillary Clinton did what she had to do last night. She backed him, but she did not go any further. Though she ran a tough campaign and may have done questionable things, the fact still remains that she got 18 million votes and to see that Barack Obama ignored this and did not even vet her is insulting. He was the one who said that she would be on anyone’s short list. I guess, just not his. I like the fact that Hillary Clinton got some zingers in about President Bush and John McCain being twins and saying “no way, no how, no McCain,” but she did not give Barack Obama the solid endorsement he was seeking and I can’t say I blame her one bit. Why? Barack Obama talked about getting away from Washington as usual, and he picks Joe Biden, who has been in DC for 35 years. He has seen his lead over John McCain slip away and I wonder what he has in mind to overtake him.

Yes, we are on the verge of accomplishing something great in America–a black man becoming the next president, but to be totally honest, I am not as enthused as many other African Americans about Barack Obama. I don’t want to hear the fluff, I want to see him get in the trenches, the very same ones Rev. Al Sharpton expects the Clintons to get in. Barack Obama is the one running for the top job, not Hillary Clinton. Her speech, in my opinion, was a boilerplate, but can you blame her? Rev. Al Sharpton and others need to stop trying to force voters to treat Barack Obama with kids gloves. He needs to stand the test of time and show us his real mettle. According to Drudge Report, Bill Clinton will not attend Barack Obama’s coronation night at Invesco Field. I am sure that will anger many Democrats. Personally, I think that is an enormous slap to the Obama camp. Just my thoughts, you be the judge…..

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Barack Obama Disavows ‘Political Godfather’s’ Comments, Jones Issues Quasi-Apology

I am glad to see that Barack Obama has disavowed comments made by his “political godfather” state Senator Emil Jones about Delmarie Cobb. He had no choice. What is amazing is that Jones was not “man” enough to issue an outright apology. He issued a quasi-apology to the Hillary Clinton supporter he allegedly called an “Uncle Tom.”

“We don’t have time for that kind of stuff,” Obama told a reporter who asked him about the flap at the Quad Cities Airport in Moline, Ill. “What we need to do is focus on unifying the party to win in November, and that’s what I intend to do.”

Just hours before Jones received a last-minute, pre-prime-time speaking role at the Democratic National Convention, he expressed regret to Chicago political consultant Delmarie Cobb for insulting her — after insisting earlier in the day he had no reason to apologize to her. Telling a bare-faced lie, I might add.

The Obama camp and Jones worked feverishly to minimize fallout from the racial flap that threatened to further alienate Clinton supporters. Why is this man awared a coveted convention speaking role while embroiled in the fallout from his comments?

As you will recall, the tempest began with a hotel lobby meeting between Jones and Cobb Saturday night. And it escalated during what had been intended as a celebratory opening of the convention, which included an unprecedented lineup of Illinois speakers.Cobb said Jones finally apologized during a Monday event.

“He came over, sat down. A couple of people obviously had something to do with it,” Cobb said, without elaborating. “He sat down at the table with me. He said, ‘I apologize and let’s move forward.’ I accepted his apology and said, ‘OK, we will.’ It was never my intention to continue things that would hurt Barack Obama.”

According to the Chicago Sun Times, Jones, however, offered a much less apologetic version of his Monday conversation with Cobb.”I said ‘If that’s what you think I said, I don’t want to have no hard feelings, so I apologize. We’ve known each other too long.” In an encounter with a reporter, Jones still insisted he never called Cobb an “Uncle Tom,” saying “But that’s not what I said””That’s all over,” he said.

Jones started the day out Monday defiantly claiming he never hurled the slur at Cobb, instead insisting he had characterized her as a “Doubting Thomas” for not being fully aboard the Obama bandwagon. Hello people, how does “Doubting Thomas” sound like “Uncle Tom?” She walked away, and I said, ‘All you doubting Thomases got to get on board.” Is he linguistically challenged? Oh, maybe the people who heard it were deaf.

As I reported yesterday, Cobb’s allegation, which was supported by two aldermen who said they heard Jones say the slur “in jest.” The latest dustup in this tempest comes courtesy of feminists aligned with Clinton, including the Illinois chapter of the National Organization for Women. “That was a pretty horrible comment,” said Illinois NOW president Bonnie Grabenhofer, who called for Jones’ immediate resignation.

“I’ve never heard anything as awful or as sexist or as racist as to call her that for supporting Hillary,” said Clinton delegate Gay Bruhn, another NOW member in Illinois who called for a public apology from Jones.

At a Monday morning meeting of Illinois delegates, Jones made clear to reporters he had no intention of stepping down before his January retirement from the state Senate or of apologizing to Cobb or the Clinton delegates.”I cannot apologize for one misinterpreting what I said. That’s all I can say,” Jones said.

What a moron and this speaks to the character of yet another person associated with Barack Obama. This is a shameless sideshow that we need to watch. This is distracting and taking Obama away from addressing the issues as to why he should be selected as our next president and not that “wrinkly guy with the white hair,” to quote Paris Hilton. I think the bar has been set so low, that Paris Hilton made perfect sense in her commercial.

Filed under: Barack Obama, Delmarie Cobb, Emil Jones, Hillary Clinton, John McCain

Andre Young, Jr., Son of Rapper Dr. Dre Found Dead

It is always very tragic when a parent has to bury their child. According to Los Angeles County Coroner, Andre Young, Jr., son of Dr. Dre has reportedly died.

The body of Andre Young Jr. was found in his Woodland Hills home on Saturday morning, says a report in the Los Angeles Times. He was only 20 years old.

Media reports said that Young went out on Friday night and came in about 5:30 A.M., but his mother found him unresponsive when she checked on him at 10 in the morning. She called 911 immediately. The cause of death will be revealed after a toxicology report.

My condolences to the family and I hope they will find out what took this young man’s life.

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