Louisiana Voice

The Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office is reportedly readying half-a-dozen SWAT teams in preparation for several anticipated simultaneous raids worldwide after warnings of potential tsunamis were issued in the wake of an 8.8 magnitude earthquake in eastern Russia.

A news release by the sheriff’s office said officials in Chile, Colombia, Japan, the U.S. and FOX NEWS, among others who terrorized citizens with alerts and advisories to evacuate low-lying coastal areas for a TSUNAMI that NEVER MATERIALIZED.

“We feel that we must be consistent in protecting the citizens of Tangipahoa Parish from terrorist threats,” a department press release said. “Even though we’re not near the Pacific coast in our parish, we do have Lake Maurepas and it’s conceivable that some of the residents along that lake could have been thrown into an unnecessary panic over the tsunami warnings.”

A sheriff’s department spokesman said the latest move for mass arrests is consistent with the recent arrest of ARDEN WELLS of Ponchatoula in connection with erroneous reports about an escape at the Tangipahoa Parish jail.

The spokesman, who spoke on condition of anonymity said that Wells, 70, published a false report on social media on June 24 that an inmate had escaped the jail. As there had been an actual escape the month prior mattered little to the department. “The inaccurate information created undue concern among the public and resulted in several inquiries about the validity of the information,” the department’s July 25 news release said.

“Following a thorough investigation, a warrant was issued for his arrest.

“Just as the law does not allow someone to falsely yell ‘fire’ in the middle of a theater to create panic, or to publish a fake threat against a school to cancel classes out of fear, a person cannot falsely publicize a concerning event like an inmate escape to scare people and we will not tolerate when they do,” said Sheriff Gerald Sticker.

Terrorizing is defined by Louisiana R.S. Code 14:40.1 as “the intentional communication of information that the commission of a crime of violence is imminent or in progress or that a circumstance dangerous to human life exists or is about to exist, with the intent of causing members of the general public to be in sustained fear for their safety; or causing evacuation of a building, a public structure, or a facility of transportation; or causing other serious disruption to the general public.”

Wells was booked into the Tangipahoa Parish Jail and then transferred to another facility out of an abundance of caution for safety and security.

“Consistent with our decision to go after Wells for his irresponsible actions, the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office will aggressively pursue the equally reckless individuals who issued the gratuitous tsunami warnings without once stopping to consider the fact that people could’ve been injured in the mad crush to evacuate a danger that in the end, did not exist. We will strive to bring those responsible for this travesty to justice no matter where our efforts take us,” the spokesperson vowed.

(Personally, I’ve always wanted to go into a fire station and yell, “Theater!!” I wonder if that would get me arrested?)

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Well, Trump has really done it this time and I have nothing left but to shut my big mouth and concede that the man is going to both keep me healthy and make me prosper by simply dropping by my local pharmacy and picking up my prescription drugs.

He’s bringing drug prices down. He says so himself. Not 30%, 40% or 50%, but by enormous numbers. Here, I’ll let him tell you in his own words that he spoke during a reception with members of Congress:

“We will have reduced drug prices by 1000%, but 1,100%, 1,200%, 1,300%, 1,400%, 700%, 600%. Not 30% or 40% or 50%. But numbers [the] likes of which you’ve never even dreamed of. We’re gonna get the drug prices down. Not 30% or 40%, which would be great. Not 50% or 60%. No, we’re gonna get them down 1,000%, 600%, 500%, 1,500%. Numbers that are not even though to be achievable.”

Damn! He’s a freakin’ genius!

Right now, I’m on daily does of Allopurinol, Atorvastatin, Isosorbide, Tamsulosin, Bisoprolol, Ezetimibe, Ranolazine, Farxiga, Amlodipine, Gabapentin, Baclofen, Loperamide, Calcitriol and Torsemide, along with a few non-prescription vitamins.

But for the undying dedication of Mr. Trump, I’d be paying a tidy sum. Thanks to him, however, the pharmacy’s gonna be paying me to take all that medication.

Can you imagine? Instead of cutting the cost 100%, which would place them at zero cost, he’s gonna cut the costs by as much as 1,500%.

Like I said, a freakin’ genius.

No longer shall I be referring to him as Old Yam Tits or Count Flatula. That’s just rude. No, from now on, I’m going to sit back and count all the money my pharmacy is going to be paying me and thanking Cheeto Benito, aka Don Whoreleone, profusely.

As another writer said, my flabbers are completely gasted.

Here’s the story as reported by Salon (Salon has a paywall, so I can’t provide a line; I have to show it this way):

President Donald Trump claimed to be planning a massive reduction in drug costs for Americans, but critics were quick to point out his numbers don’t add up.

In a reception with members of Congress on Tuesday, Trump spoke about lowering drug prices for Americans at a time when cuts to programs like Medicaid are on the horizon.

In doing so, Trump promised some truly staggering figures.

“We will have reduced drug prices by 1000%, by 1,100%, 1,200%, 1,300%, 1,400%, 700%, 600%.  Not 30% or 40% or 50%. But numbers likes of which you’ve never even dreamed of.”   

“We’re gonna get the drug prices down,” Trump said. “Not 30% or 40%, which would be great. Not 50% or 60%. No, we’re gonna get them down 1,000%, 600%, 500%, 1,500%. Numbers that are not even thought to be achievable.” 

Trump’s comments left social media users scratching their heads. Users asked X’s AI chatbot Grok about Trump’s claims. Grok variously called them “mathematically impossible,” “hyperbolic,” and in one case, “total bullsh**t.”

Several accounts pointed to the impossibility of “negative numbers” for drug prices, along with the idea of “getting paid to take drugs.”

One user put it more bluntly: “Cant wait fill my next zpack at cvs and leave with a stack of their money”

Trump claimed that an executive order signed in May would pave the way for reduced drug costs by invoking “most-favored nation” status on drug prices. In theory, pharmaceutical companies could not charge Americans anymore for drugs than they were charging citizens in other countries.

However, talks between the Trump administration and pharmaceutical companies have been ongoing, with one executive calling them “inconclusive” by according to Bio Pharma Dive.

In his first administration, Trump touted a war on drug prices in the wake of COVID-19, but failed to deliver on price reductions, with members of his own party referring to the idea as “socialist price controls.”

Hats off to the Art of the Deal.

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You may recall the LouisianaVoice STORY OF JULY 15 about the Department of Corrections official uttering the racial slur, including the use of the N-word, when he apparently thought his microphone was muted on a zoom call hosted by the Louisiana Department of Health.

We submitted a public records request on July 14 as to the status of any investigation and/or action to be taken by DOC over the matter. Four days later, we received the following email:

Please be advised that the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections is providing notification that Blake Leblanc (director of Mental Health for DOC) resigned effective today, July 18, 2025, therefore records pertaining to an investigation that did not result in discipline are confidential due to the employee’s right to privacy guaranteed by the Article I, Section 5 of the Louisiana Constitution, and are not subject to release.

No further comments regarding this matter will be made pursuant to the above statement.

Thanks,

Tif

Tiffany Dickerson
Communications Director
Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections
504 Mayflower Street | Baton Rouge, LA 70802

That’s it. No official apology on behalf of DOC for the offensive remark by one of its own, just a statement that he’d resigned. You’d think something would be forthcoming about how the agency does not condone such insensitivity and that it deeply regrets that it occurred and that it certainly does not reflect the attitude of DOC, yada, yada, yada.

But no, just that dismissive note from Tif that LeBlanc had resigned and that DOC was protecting the employee’s “right to privacy.”

In Ms. Dickerson’s defense, we’re pretty sure that’s all she was allowed to say as DOC quickly circled the wagons in hopes the controversy would go away with LeBlanc’s departure.

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