Make that four days and counting......

Kim moved up the date to Monday......

Worthy will announce mayor probe result on Monday
Robert Snell and Christine MacDonald / The Detroit News

DETROIT -- Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy will announce Monday whether Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his former chief of staff will face criminal charges over the text-message scandal and handling of the $8.4 million whistle-blower settlement.

Worthy, who has scheduled an 11 a.m. news conference Monday, previously had said she would announce possible charges next week in a case that has gripped the city and drawn national attention. If she wasn't going to charge the mayor, which remains a possibility, Worthy likely wouldn't wait to make that announcement, said Larry Dubin, a professor at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law.

"I think there is a greater likelihood than not that criminal charges will be brought," Dubin said. "It will be a momentous moment in the city of Detroit when she announces her decision."

Worthy is looking into whether Kilpatrick and former Chief of Staff Christine Beatty committed any crimes when they testified during a whistle-blower trial last year or afterward, when the city negotiated to obtain copies of the text messages that include intimate exchanges between the two.

Kilpatrick and Beatty testified that they did not have a physical relationship though the text messages appear to contradict that.

Kilpatrick's spokeswoman did not return a call seeking comment Thursday.
Perjury, a felony that carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, is at the top of the list of possible criminal, civil and professional discipline charges Kilpatrick and Beatty could face, legal experts say.

Other possible charges Worthy could consider include official misconduct; obstruction of justice, if there was evidence of a secret agreement to conceal perjury or another crime; and embezzlement, if there was evidence Kilpatrick used city funds to pay for hotel rooms or other personal expenses associated with an apparent tryst with Beatty.

"It is speculation, but I would not be surprised to see (Beatty) charged with a perjury-related offense," Dubin said.

Since 1999, the Prosecutor's Office has charged about 45 people with perjury, with the most common punishment being probation, but in one case the defendant was sentenced to 19 months in prison, according to a review of several cases. The charges were against people who lied as part of homicide investigations, tried to file false charges against others or lied about their identity.

'The city needs to move on'
Detroit City Councilwoman Barbara-Rose Collins said waiting for Worthy's decision is stressful.
"This city needs to move on and it's hard to move on waiting for her," Collins said. "We have so much to do. We have the budget hanging out there.
"We really need to get this behind us."

If Worthy files charges, don't expect the prosecutor to try the case herself. Worthy, who rose to prominence prosecuting two white former Detroit police officers in the 1992 beating death of black motorist Malice Green, has not personally tried any cases during her tenure as prosecutor.

"She has indicated that she would certainly like to handle a case in trial but she's busy running the office and doesn't anticipate trying any cases this year," spokeswoman Maria Miller said.

Documents released by the Wayne Circuit Court earlier this month reveal that Kilpatrick cut a side deal to settle the whistle-blowers suits with ex-Detroit cops in exchange for the text messages between him and Beatty.

The text messages contradicted sworn testimony that they did not have an affair or discuss the firing of Deputy Chief Gary Brown. Those details were withheld from City Council members when they approved the settlement. But records also show that taxpayer dollars were spent on private attorneys to research and set up a safe deposit box that eventually was used as the depository for the roughly 14,000 text messages that are at the vortex of the scandal.

The council will hold hearings in early April on the whistle-blowers' settlement.
Any charges filed against Kilpatrick likely would affect how the council proceeds with its investigation, said Council President Kenneth Cockrel Jr. He said getting Kilpatrick to appear for upcoming council hearings on the scandal would likely be "problematic" if he's criminally charged.

What to expect if he's charged

If Kilpatrick is charged with a crime, Dubin and other legal experts expect the prosecutor to handle the case with dignity and not parade a handcuffed mayor past the media.
"My sense is she would not do anything to embarrass the mayor in any way or undermine his authority with grandstanding procedures that would be demeaning," Dubin said.

Tom Cranmer, a well-known local criminal defense attorney who represented former Detroit Police Chief William Hart among others charged with corruption, said if the mayor is charged with a felony it will be a straightforward process.

First, the Prosecutor's Office will draft a complaint that specifies where, when and what laws were violated. State complaints have little detail in Michigan unlike the "richness of detail" of a federal grand jury indictment. Grand juries are rarely used in Michigan -- except for one-person grand juries investigating long unsolved crimes.

The complaint would then be taken by the investigating officer to a 36th District Court judge or magistrate in what's known as the "swear to."

The officer must swear under oath that there is probable cause that the person committed the crimes of which they are accused in the complaint.

Cranmer said Worthy's office would alert the mayor's attorney so the mayor could make arrangements to turn himself in to face arraignment in 36th District Court. The mayor would be fingerprinted, photographed and likely released on personal bond, which means he wouldn't have to put up any money.

The judge or magistrate would set a date for a preliminary examination typically with 14 days. Then the Prosecutor's Office would have to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that there was probable cause to believe that the mayor had committed these actions. If so, the mayor would be bound over to Wayne Circuit Court for a jury trial.

Former Mayor Dennis Archer said fighting a criminal charge would impair Kilpatrick's ability to run the city. He said Kilpatrick would have to decide if he had the stamina and focus to put the city before himself, but stopped short of calling for the mayor to resign.

"I've worked with people who were immensely concerned and preoccupied with criminal charges," said Archer, an attorney who spoke Thursday at a Detroit News editorial board meeting about a possible gubernatorial run. "It will take an enormous amount of time and an enormous amount of energy."

If Kilpatrick is charged, "for people who live in the city, no one ever envisioned anything like this would occur," Archer said.

Also on Thursday, the City Council's attorney William Goodman sent a number of subpoenas ordering people to appear for council hearings in early April, including Kilpatrick. James Canning, a Kilpatrick spokesman, said it hasn't been determined whether the mayor will show.

Goodman also sent subpoenas to the city's law department and Kilpatrick's office for a long list of records related to the whistle-blower lawsuits, even ordering the departments to produce the hard drives that contained any documents related to the lawsuits.

Detroit News Staff Writers Francis X. Donnelly, David Shepardson and David Josar contributed to this report. You can reach Robert Snell at (313) 222-2028 or http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080321/METRO/mailto:rsnell@detnews.com.

Black Nationalism and the Kwame Saga.....

A question from our reader and my response.....

So many people on the am1200 Ms. Mildred show think that his latest arrogant answers show that he has already cut some deal with Ms.
Worthy, and I am inclined to agree. He says he will be vindicated of ALL charges, although how Carlita would vindicate him of adultery, I don't know. They also point out his use of the word "we", which could mean both him and Beatty.
One thing is for sure, his latest PR campaign sucks. It is not making people who doubt him believe him, and I think it is making his supporters look more foolish.
Could you please comment on his newest friendship with the Black Muslims? I am beginning to think he will use the Hillary policy of "scorched earth" to get out of this mess, up to and including race wars. Please tell me that I am wrong and he is above that.

New friendship with the Black Muslims? I'm not so sure that the relationship is entirely new as they supported his candidacy the last two elections. To understand Black Muslim philosophy I would suggest exploring the definition of Black Nationalism ideology and the distinct differences between groups such as the Nation of Islam, in Detroit the Shrine of the Black Madonna and other Pan-African organizations who share the theme of Black pride but deviate on the best way to accomplish that goal. I am by far not a theorist on this thought and I hope that one of our readers can chime in to clarify points and/or the relationship Kwame has with these groups.

But if you listen to Kwames spiel about "the man" doing this to him it fits strategically with his yearning to turn the attention from his lack of accountability and ethical practice which is consistent with many Black Nationalist groups who believe that the ills of our society have been caused by the white man and if we get in trouble it is a direct byproduct of that fact regardless of if we are culpable. Now I'm certain that some readers may take offense to my statement but so what. Not everything is black and white and if we don't hold ourselves accountible when it's our people who render transgression upon our race then we get what we deserve.

I would strongly urge people to read the full transcript of Obamas speech on race as it was brilliant and gets to the core of not only race relations in this country but discusses in detail how black folks can also be racially insensitive so much that it blinds and restricts progress.

KE

Eight Days To Go Until Armageddon - Detroit Style

Thanks everyone for the comments to the board regarding the possible infractions that "may be" imposed by the Prosecutors office. Today she stated that next Wednesday is the big day she makes her press conference. I can only guess that it gives the national media chance to book their plane reservations.

I do agree with the last comment that Kwame will be forced with two options - to step down or go to jail while stepping down. Hints on his defense is that his attorneys plan to question the authenticity of the text messages attempting to place in jurors minds reasonable doubt. Hmmmm... If that was the case why did his Attorney fly down to Sky Tel asking them to destroy or not release the records?

But here's my take - In the Brown/Nelthrope trial if the jurors didn't believe him and Beatty when they were on the stand "trying" to tell the truth how in the hell do they think they will find a jury that will believe that b.s. with physical proof corroborating their testimony this time! Not withstanding the fact that there is not a person in the state of Michigan - or possibly the country that has no opinion on the case or bias against Kwame Kilpatrick. Finding an impartial jury is futile.

He is going to resign and when the party "comes" out play the sympathy card that he was trying to protect his wife from the assault charge and the "devil" got into him causing him to make these numerous "mistakes". Ministers in this city misconstrue "mistakes" with thievery.

But then again, many of them are being paid via city contracts etc. so they will say anything to stay in good steed with da' Maya'...

By the way, listening to ALL his comments over the past few months technically, has Kwame stated specifically anything he is sorry for? And I mean anything? How can you repent supposedly in the eyes of the Lord as he exclaims but feign culpability? How is that possible? It's possible if you don't mean what you say and busted is what you see.

KE

Question For Our Legal Beagles

KE wants to put a question out to the intelligentsia that read this blog. Can any Attorneys provide a definition based on Michigan law of the terms listed below? Now let me preface this by saying KE neither confirms nor denies that these terms may happen to do something with a certain elected official and the charges he - or she may accrue next week based on reliable sources. Nor do they have to do with multiple counts in one of the categories. (heh, heh)

Perjury
Obstruction of Justice
Malfeasance in office (Or Official Misconduct)

Can someone explain how many years if convicted a person would get for each charge in Michigan and the chances of someone beating the rap if charged with all these counts simultaneously?

Inquiring minds want to know!

KE

More Detail On Tamara Greene.....

Folks, I'm curious to hear your input.

Friday, March 14, 2008
Who killed Tamara Greene?
Charlie LeDuff / The Detroit News

DETROIT -- Her real name was Tamara Greene, an arresting, thick-bodied stripper known as Strawberry. By now her death is the stuff of Detroit legend, a whodunit of sex and politics and power.

The most incredible plot is a simple one: She is said to have danced at a party at the mayor's mansion and was executed because she knew too much.

The party, of course, has never been proven, and the facts about Greene, as told by investigators, friends and family members,reveal something far less sinister. A portrait emerges of a woman who ran with bad men and died with two black eyes.

Greene, 27, was Detroit murder victim No. 113 in 2003. There were 366 homicides in the city that year, just half of those resolved. At first, her death was considered an ordinary blue-collar murder -- a drive-by job -- in a city with too many of them. She died in a hail of bullets, slumped over her steering wheel, her eyeglasses broken, the car still in drive, creeping down the street.

Her murder case went cold; a suspect was never publicly identified.

Then the mayor's spectacular political troubles began, and Greene became the mystery woman whose noir life took on mythological proportions. It begins with a former homicide investigator who says he is convinced that the disgraced mayor and his cronies in the Police Department are crooks and killers.

The case of her death was resurrected earlier this month, when that investigator, former Detroit Police Lt. Alvin Bowman, claimed that police brass squelched his inquiry into the supposed party at the Manoogian Mansion in late fall 2002 and Greene's murder in April 2003 because he got too close to making a connection. The Detroit Police Department has reopened the case as has the Wayne County prosecutor.

"I suspect that the shooter was a law enforcement officer, and more specifically, a Detroit Police Department officer," Bowman said in an affidavit. Reached by telephone, he elaborated: "She wanted money to stay quiet and they wouldn't give it to her."

And yet no evidence from the early-morning crime scene suggests that any police officers were involved. According to police reports, the medical examiner's findings and investigators, it is most likely that Greene was done in by Detroit's wild streets.

In early April, two weeks before her murder, Greene had danced for a corroborated party of men. That party was held at the Residence Inn in Southfield, a run-down motor lodge modeled after a Swiss chalet. The party was attended by known drug dealers, hooligans and other all-stars of city life, authorities say.

Greene got into an altercation with a small man -- 5 1/2 feet tall -- with a big ego and a record for trafficking cocaine. He wanted sex. She refused. He punched her once in the eye, then punched her once in the other eye.

That's when Greene's boyfriend, Eric "Big E" Mitchell, stepped in, according to statements both Mitchell and a stripper named Taquela Anjema Bates gave police. The two men had an altercation, the bigger man winning. The Southfield police responded to the fight, but by then, the principals had left.

Nevertheless, the glove had been thrown. Disrespect had been committed.

The addresses and phone numbers for Mitchell and Bates have gone stale. Mitchell recently re-emerged in Romulus, where he was arrested on felony drug charges. The Residence Inn is under new management and has a new name. A lot changes in six years.

Greene led a 'wild life'
Tamara Greene grew up on Detroit's east side, graduating from Martin Luther King Jr. Senior High School in 1994. She had her first child, Jonathan Bond, when she was 17 years old. She gave birth to her second child, Ashly, when she was 19 and her third, India, when she was 26.

The first two children live with their fathers and the youngest with Greene's brother.

A $150 million federal lawsuit has been filed on Jonathan's behalf, charging primarily that police executives sank the investigation, preventing her murderer from being caught. The lawsuit does not claim that City Hall played a role in her death. Taris Jackson, the father of her second child, has followed with a claim on Greene's estate should any money be forthcoming from the oldest child's suit.

It is unclear when Greene took to the street life, began stripping or working as an escort. Her price, according to confidant and lawyer Dennis Mitchenor, was $500 "just to look" and hundreds more "to touch," he said. Voluptuous and regal, Greene would quickly become a superstar in the sex-charged world of politics, business and the streets.

"God gave her that body and she knew how to use it," Mitchenor said.

"If there was a high rollers' party, she was definitely the girl to be there. It was a wild life, though. She changed (cell) numbers like a drug dealer."

Greene had a taste for dangerous men, according to those who knew her. She ran under the aliases Veronica, Linda and Laurie, and of course her professional name Strawberry. She served as a frontfor check-kiters, drug kingpins and the like. She drove a $70,000 BMW leased under her grandmother's name and freely lent it to her coterie of suspicious men, thus allowing them to drive around unmolested by police.

"I didn't know the full extent of what she was doing, but she didn't deserve this," said her grandmother, Bertha Powell, of Columbus, Ohio. "Tammy was not a bad person. She told me she got beat up at a party. I told her to come home and let her face heal. Of course she didn't come."

Boyfriend was shot, too
A week after the party with the 5 1/2 -foot drug dealer, the BMW was shot up, a car Greene had loaned to her paramour, Mitchell. No one was in the car that time. Powell would eventually assume payments of the car and sell it at a substantial loss.

Constantly in need of money, Greene accepted a dancing engagement the week she was beaten.

"You can't dance tonight, you've got black eyes," Mitchenor remembered telling her. "She said she had to do what she had to do. She did the party in sunglasses. It was something of an occupational hazard."

In the early morning of April 30, Greene and Mitchell left the All-Star club on Eight Mile where she worked as a stripper. It was 3:40 a.m. The couple idled outside his home on Roselawn near West Outer Drive in the Bagley section of Detroit. A large white SUV turned the corner, a hand holding a pistol out the window.

Mitchell saw the man.

"Light-skinned," he described the shooter to police that morning, like the short man he had the fight with a few weeks before. Mitchell, 6 feet tall and 265 pounds, ducked for cover into the foot-well of the Buick Skylark. He said nothing to Greene. She was struck three times, according to the medical examiner's report: once behind the left ear, once through the jaw, and once through the left arm and chest. Mitchell was struck by five bullets, including once in the neck, according to official reports.

Mitchell staggered around the street, knocked on a neighbor's door (the neighbor threatened to shoot him), then made a call to a friend. The hit man never returned to finish him off. Hardly the mark of a professional.

Ex-cop stands by his words
Still, Bowman, the former Detroit police lieutenant, insisted it was a professional police job. He pointed to the fact that .40-caliber ammunition was used.

"I stand by what I said. Police-issued Glocks use .40-caliber ammunition," he said in a rambling telephone interview.

Glock does, in fact, manufacture handguns that fire .40-caliber ammunition, but so does Smith and Wesson and a slew of other gun manufacturers. Bowman said he did not remember if ballistic tests have been made on the casings to determine the specific brand of gun. In fact, they have not.

Greene was struck 18 times from a moving vehicle, Bowman said. Yet the medical examiner's report shows she was struck just three times and just 12 bullets casings were found at the scene, according to the police report that morning.

With all the discrepancies, is it not possible that he could be wrong? Bowman was asked. It is his theory, after all, that the street corners and the corridors of power intersected Tamara Greene's doorstep. It is his theory that has launched a thousand barstool conspiracies.

There was a prolonged silence. Then Bowman offered this: "To be perfectly honest, it's like an octopus's tentacles that spread all over. Once you see it, once you connect the dots, it's obvious."

Constructive Dialogue Continues.....

square360 has left a new comment on your post "Comments From Our Readers":

KE, outstanding blog and very thought provoking... also helps keep the pressure on and the fire turned up on this wayward brotha! Though I agree with you in large part in your analysis, I have to take exception with your generalized assessment of our people. Your latest post seamed to stop just short of implying that Carter G. Woodson was denouncing blacks in his evaluation of learned psychological behaviors taught to us by the slave trader and perpetuated and enforced by the overseer.

In delving further into Dr. Woodson's brilliant and illuminous observation, he also said, "...LET US NOW BEGIN TO DO THE VERY THING WE HAVE BEEN TAUGHT WE CANNOT DO."

The honorable Marcus Mosiah Garvey was able to ascertain similar patterns of erroneous thinking among some in our culture, stating, "... LET THE PEOPLE KNOW THAT IN THEM ONLY IS THE POWER TO RISE..." As you mentioned, quotes such as these from our warrior scholar ancestors seemed to have been capsulized for the benefit of awakening us for such a time as this.

Summarily, no matter how abhorrent Kwame's behavior has become, I have more empathy than shame for him because he is obviously acting out in the way he's been groomed and instructed. ("Don't let nobody talk about Y'all's boy!" - U.S. Congresswoman Caroly Cheeks Kilpatrick) In the mayor, I see the hope of all that a black man could have accomplished through boundless potential be publicly brought to his knees, albeit of his own doing... which is eventually where this travesty is heading.

In the eyes of blacks, especially our youth, the psychological effects of the impending political emasculation of this brotha will be more damaging and far-reaching, unbelievably, than the misdeeds themselves. That is what is truly a shame.

Keep hittin' em hard, bruh...

Hello Square360,

Just to clarify, my viewpoint on Dr. Woodson’s analysis of the state of African Americans during that caustic period was an attempt to draw correlation between the learned psychological behaviors you illustrated in your comments and how it applies to current day in the manner of how we conduct ourselves in matters of accountability in the black community when the antagonist is within.

The premise was twofold but to clarify let me utilize an analogy. Those who reside in suburbia examining our many plights may exclaim to just put a fence around the city and let them destroy themselves without any contribution from outside sources. Even when the enemy within – in this case being political “leaders” compromise every tenet of ethical responsibility and moral imperative we as a people validate their sordid contributions and reelect them to office. Thus, the matter that we “Cut out a backdoor for our own special benefit applies” to current day. Likewise, the other quotations go towards what I like to consider, “Cause and Effect”. The cycle of inferiority passed down from generation to generation is wholly consistent with the dehumanization of our people as a result of slavery. What I appreciated about Dr. Woodson’s commentary is that in the effort to educate our people on their condition he first had to address our mental status and how they interrelated in a variety of societal disciplines. Why do we think the way we do? What happened when some black folks acquired knowledge and degrees and then turned on their race? What caused us to have self-hate? Once you understand the “Cause” then you can create a diagnosis.

My attempt in this blog was really not about Kwame Kilpatrick even though the title says otherwise. In reality, any leader who purposely abuses and manipulates their people for personal benefit fits into this Modus Operandi. The principal goal is to challenge black people to evaluate our condition from a clinical perspective minus the emotional attachment and make conscious ethical decisions for the benefit of everyone particularly when it comes to the election of leadership and accountability. This is such a daunting task in our community as I find myself having to deprogram folks before you can impart even a modicum of knowledge. I make no money off this site, receive no hidden accolades – hell, folks don’t even know my name! But for the love of my people and readers such as yourself perhaps we can change the dialogue in our community to be a more robust and progressive environment. Because what it really comes down to – all we have are us.

When all is said and done (i.e. once Kwame is out of office) my goal is to arrange a panel discussion on how do we as a people recalibrate and move to the next progression. We need to come together, sensibly and ethically.

Thank you for the comments and please feel free to contribute anytime.

KE

Comments From Our Readers

Hello Everyone,

My last post illicited quite a few responses and I greatly appreciate the contributions. So much that I wanted to make a post and address some of your comments and inquiries. My comments are noted in italics....

Hello KE, I love reading your blog! I am an African-American woman who lives in Toledo, OH, and I have been following this sorted mess going on in Detroit. I agree to everything that you have posted, and heard myself saying similiar words to friends and family regarding us black folx, esp. to the issues facing us in Detroit, and I did say us because I feel a connection to Black people everywhere. I cannot say that I have the solution to these things, but I believe that the people of Detroit should not allow this to go on, nor accept this type of behavior ever. Well, I have more thoughts on this but I will leave it at this. I really truly enjoy reading your words and am so glad to see your return, hopefully I can follow your work beyond this negativity. Keep up the Bee-U-t-fuLL work, KE!!!Love and Blessings to the people living in Detroit...

Thank you for the kind words my Toledo sister. As you can see, we continue to catch hell "up" here but hopefully sharing these viewpoints can perhaps inspire people from other locales to look at their leadership more closely. Now next time - win Ohio for us won't ya!

Glam Girl said...
Hi KE! I recently found out about your site and I must say it's extremely on point. I'm from Detroit, but moved away 4 years ago to Texas. I've been following the story here and talking to my people back home about it and everybody telling me the same thing. They want him out so the city can really move forward and attempt repair the damage his crooked administration has caused.The "Hitler/Jones" comparison is spot on. These "leaders" become so delusional that they feel because "God" appointed them into these positions, they have to answer to no one but him. I believe if he gets charged and convicted with high crimes, he would either attempt to flee or drink the cyanide laced kool-aid. I think Kwame is crazy enough to get his goons to start riots in the city, just so he can declare martial law to stay in office.Hitler did it, Musharaff in Pakistan recently did it, I think Bush is gonna do it and Kwame might do it.I'm a conspiracy theorist in the truest sense!Love the blog!Peace, love and prosperity to everyone in tha D (not affiliated with KK lol)GlamGirlCEO

Glam, I got a little heat about the Hitler reference but that's o.k. What I also wanted to mention was that Kwame acts like Nino Brown of Detroit (rent the movie "New Jack City" for those unfamiliar). The bottom line is that Kwame is smart and knows what he is doing which is repulsive. He could have been great but chose to bamboozle and hoodwink. Stay safe in Texas....

Anonymous said...
Glad that you are back, KE. We all missed you. It was interesting to me that you said the speech was his Swan Song. I had been wondering about something similar. I wasn't sure if he just got caught up in the moment (self control seems decidedly lacking in Kwame) or if that last part of the speech had actually been written out beforehand. Either way it did not say anything good about Kwame.I think that what you said about African-American people and their leaders, though, may be slightly off To me the malady extends to the state of Michigan. We all accept less than the best in our leaders. For instance, why are our roads worse than any other state? We certainly see enough repair work going on, yet the roads are awful. Bad construction? If so, why do the same companies continue getting the contracts? Why do the same people keep getting elected to office? Do we really look at what they are doing for our state, or is it name recognition? When people are running for office and say "Vote for me based on my record.", do we really look at their record, or do we look at the part of their record that they are willing to show us? Hillary has a record-but it is a dismal one. Gov. Granholm had a record-as our AG-but since it included things like Ricky Holland she did not want it examined-so it was not elaborated on. Hillary says Obama has no record, but she counted that as a selling point when Bill ran for president and had no record.I think what I am trying to say is that Kwame is no different than most politicians. The reason that I will be voting for Obama is that he seems different to me, and I truly do hope that he lives up to the expectations of so many of us.

I agree with you. We need to scrutinize our elected officials more closely across all party affiliations. The one thing I've learned about this episode and particularly the Presidential race is that it's all about money, power and relationships - one hand washes the other. If you have money people don't care what color you are and if you have power you have the influence to move mountains without spending a dime. But because this blog is primarily focused on African American thought (and the lack thereof) that is where I tend to reside. Hopefully we can move beyond this issue as there are some things going on in the Democratic campaign that I'm itching to talk about.

Anonymous said...
I'm not the biggest Kwame fan around. In fact, I am appalled at what he's done to the city.I was listening to the radio this morning and heard Hansen Clarke. He was taking the high road and not the 'lynch-mob' approach Kwame spoke about. I was thinking to myself then: what if 2005 went differently? What if Hansen Clarke (or someone else) had won? Would we still be in this foreclosure mess? Would we have the same horrible city services, high taxes, and failing schools? Can one man really turn things around that much?I thought so. Kwame isn't just doing a disservice to himself and the reputation of minorities, but to the people of the entire area. He inherited a city, while still lacking, on the rise from the Archer administration. He has managed to pull a George Bush and destroy all his progress while making things worse. I'm just hoping we get someone like Hansen Clarke in 2009 to help turn this around.

Hansen Clarke is a good guy even though I supported Freman Hendrix in the last race. There is still considerable question that he lost. All I know is when I went to bed about 1am the night of the general election Freman was up by 10 percentage points and when I woke up he lost. It was imperative that Kwame stayed in office by any means necessary. How else could he hide his transgressions? Hell, it took four more damn years for all this stuff to come out.

Anonymous said...
Kwame is now the "race baiter" and he has destroyed anything that could have been accomplished in the City. Resign now!

Right on. His rhetoric is very similar to Orville Hubbard - former Mayor of Dearborn. The difference that Orville meant what he said. Kwame is just trying to play the masses for his personal benefit.

Anonymous said...
Excellent analysis. You put into words, exactly what I have been feeling about this whole ordeal. As an African American Women, I'm also ashamed. I plan to find and read the book you referenced in your Blog. Thank you. You and your words are a breath of fresh air and hope !

Thank you very much. The Woodson book is like a time capsule blasted to current day. Stay tuned as we are just getting started.

And I leave everyone with this antidote:

Having the Detroit Police Department investigate Tamara Greens murder is like having the Ku Klux Klan investigate lynchings.

KE

A Nigga' is what you see.......

I must first apologize to everyone for the delay in my posts. The access to my blog was surreptitiously compromised but I’m back. Perhaps the break was needed as many – and I mean many revelations have come into fruition. Where should I begin? Kwame made his state of the city address and cut up. Should I start there… Or should we talk about a former police clerk substantiating the mansion party swearing to a deposition earlier this week. Or should I talk about the awarding of city contracts illegally found via the text messages by the administration? Kim Worthy announced today that she is postponing action from the prosecutor’s office for another couple of weeks. Based on my sources what this really means is that Kim is preparing additional charges on top of what she was already planning to issue. She’s coming down hard – very hard. The action of Kwame hiring a high priced New York defense attorney further substantiates this fact. It’s not that he will be forced to resign. The real question is will he stay out of prison.

But let’s talk about the tirade last night of what a friend of mine eloquently stated as coming from a delusional man. If you have followed this blog the primary question and impetus for our dialogue has been can African Americans govern themselves? Allow our white readers to eavesdrop on a pointed conversation that I’m about to have with black folks. I’m going to be real about this and make plain on why this episode says more about the lack of political and intellectual acumen of black people than it does the transgressions of one Kwame Kilpatrick. Furthermore, it highlights the miseducation that has plagued our community for the greater part of four centuries. Please bear with me while I share some excerpts from Carter G. Woodson’s “Miseducation of the Negro” published in 1933:

…The problem of holding the Negro down, therefore, is easily solved. When you control a man’s thinking you do not have to worry about his actions. You do not have to tell him not to stand here or go yonder. He will find his “proper place” and will stay in it. You do not need to send him to the back door. He will go without being told. In fact, if there is no back door, he will cut one for his special benefit. His education makes it necessary…

Let me share something with you. Specifically, Kwame Kilpatrick is a dangerous man. A Judas in the midst who is not far from the failed leadership of Adolph Hitler or Jim Jones. Now you may consider that harsh but understand this – both individuals were passionate about what they did leading the masses to great turmoil. Both believed they were delivered from God to rule over the minions and both committed suicide choosing to accept death over accountability. Time will tell if that surmise will be Kwame’s ultimate sacrifice but we shall see. The tirade at the end of his speech was his swan song. A farewell designed to impart that the “man” did him in. That this was really a battle of “us” vs. “them”. A tactic to solidify the caustic racial environment prevalent in the Detroit community. A systematic plan to once again implore Detroiters – black people - to accept the rule of racism over accountability. What’s sad is that in 2008 when we have a man named Barack Obama who just may be the first African American to hold Presidential office we have the Anti-Christ Barack Obama – Kwame Kilpatrick who stands for everything that is wrong with Black America. Yes, this is about us. This is about how we feel about ourselves as a people and as a race. We don’t love or value ourselves. We rather accept the idiocy of someone being out to get Kwame Kilpatrick than facing reality and eliminating those of our same skin tone that exasperate failure and fear.

…The same educational process which inspires and stimulates the oppressor with the thought that he is everything and has accomplished everything worthwhile, depresses and crushes at the same time the spark of genius in the Negro by making him feel that his race does not amount to much and never will measure up to the standards of other peoples. The Negro thus educated is a hopeless liability of the race…

Are we comfortable with this type of leadership or are we comfortable with mediocrity? Or is it that we are so used to having nothing that excellence and the pursuit of love of thy neighbor simply does not exist in the intellect of Detroiters? Are we able to weed out traitors in our midst or do we look aside as our consciousness would like us to do better but we simply don’t know better? These are the real questions that we face. And as an African American male for the first time I’m ashamed of my people. To have a stable nourishing environment you have to have a barometer to build upon. Without any cause and effect, without any checks and balances you will fall for anything. It’s safe to assume that if Kwame was white he would have been gone long ago. And why is that? Is it simply because he’s black or is it simply because black people are so miseducated that they are blinded by their skin tone to accept anything – even if it means that that failed leadership is the virus of our black existence on this earth. Yes, ladies and gentleman – it is that serious and I venture into an area of black psychology that the misinformed or uneducated never knew existed.

What I do know is this – regardless of if Kwame somehow miraculously survives this situation and continues as Mayor the negative psychological ramifications on Black people in this city has been exceedingly accomplished. Another generation trapped in the abyss of governance ineptitude. And to anyone who reads this dissertation and disagrees with my analysis I state – How you think about Kwame Kilpatrick is how you think of yourself. Don’t expect anyone to save you or impart sympathy when it’s obvious you don’t care about yourself enough to course correct. And by the way, white folks ain’t thinking about you. Why destroy those who destroy themselves? It’s such a waste of energy and time.

…If the “educated negro” could go off and be white he might be happy, but only the mulatto now and then can do this. The large majority of this class, then, must go through life denouncing white people because they are trying to run away from blacks and decrying the blacks because they are not white…

To all who read this column I wish peace to you as we await the decision by Kim Worthy. And yes, the hammer will be coming down. Hard – very hard.


KE

Tamaras Ghost Emerges....

Time to connect the dots as the temperature rises.......

Ex-police official believes Greene killed by Detroit cop, court record shows

Paul Egan / The Detroit News

DETROIT -- A former homicide lieutenant who investigated the death of exotic dancer Tamara Greene said in a sworn affidavit he suspects the woman was killed by a member of the Detroit Police Department.

Lt. Alvin Bowman also said in the affidavit he is aware of links between Greene and "high-ranking city employees" and an unnamed associate of Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.

Bowman gave the deposition in a federal lawsuit brought by Greene's family against the city of Detroit, Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and other city officials.

Greene's family alleges that top city officials interfered with the investigation of Greene's April 30, 2003, drive-by killing for political reasons. City officials deny the allegations.

Greene's name has been linked to a long rumored but never substantiated party at the mayor's Manoogian Mansion.

Bowman, who alleged in a separate lawsuit that he was transferred out of homicide for attempting to investigate Greene's killing, said in a Feb. 29 affidavit, "I suspected that the shooter was a law enforcement officer, and more specifically, a Detroit Police Department officer."

Bowman was awarded $200,000 in a jury trial against the city.

Deputy Chief James Tate, a spokesman for Detroit police, could not be reached for comment this morning. James Canning, a spokesman for the mayor, declined comment, citing ongoing litigation.

Mayer Morganroth, the Southfield attorney representing the city and the mayor in the Greene civil lawsuit, today described the Bowman allegations as "garbage."

"It's ridiculous," Morganroth said of the party allegations. "Find a person who was there. Find a person who knows anything firsthand."

Greene was shot about 18 times with a .40 caliber weapon -- the kind issued to Detroit police -- while sitting in a parked vehicle, Bowman said in the affidavit.

Bowman believed Greene was the target of a contract killing, partly because the shooter had ample opportunity to shoot the male passenger in the vehicle, but did not do so, he said.

"In the course of our investigation, I learned from the Michigan State Police that they possessed a telephone record linking Ms. Greene to high-ranking city employees not long before her murder," Bowman said in the affidavit.

"I also learned that Tamara Greene danced for and was employed by an associate of Mayor Kilpatrick."

Morganroth said Attorney General Mike Cox investigated the party allegations and ruled it an urban legend. A .40 caliber Glock is a gun frequently used by drug dealers, not just police officers, he said.

The mayor is embroiled in a controversy over $8.4 million in city settlements paid to three other former Detroit police officers who filed whistle-blower suits alleging they were retaliated against for reporting or investigating matters related to the party and/or alleged wrongdoing by the mayor and his police bodyguards.

The mayor signed a secret agreement as part of the settlements requiring that text messages exchanged in 2002 and 2003 between him and his former Chief of Staff Christine Beatty be kept under wraps. The text messages, disclosed by the media in January, point to an affair between Kilpatrick and Beatty, and possible perjury after both testified at a whistle-blower trial last year. Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy is investigating.

Bowman alleged both former Detroit Police Chief Jerry Oliver and current Chief Ella Bully-Cummings gave "an unexplainable amount of attention" to the Greene case, with Oliver on numerous occasions requesting the file be sent to his office for review.

"On each occasion, the file was returned … with reports missing from the file," Bowman alleges in the affidavit.

Under Bully-Cummings, the file was prematurely sent to the "cold case" file, despite the fact the killing was less than a year old and was being actively investigated, he said.

Another officer on the homicide squad, Sgt. Marion Stevenson, said her case notes on the Greene murder "were erased from her computer hard drive" and "her zip storage files disappeared from a locked cabinet inside the police department," Bowman said.

"The members of my squad and I were aware or otherwise believed that the file was given to cold case and that I was transferred because neither Mayor Kilpatrick not his Chief of Staff Christine Beatty wanted there to be an investigation of the Manoogian Mansion party," Bowman alleged.

The lawyer representing part of Greene's family, Norman Yatooma, also filed in court a Michigan State Police report of an interview with an emergency medical technician who said he witnessed a disturbance at Detroit Receiving Hospital in the fall of 2002 at which he was told "the mayor's wife had beat down some b----."

A prominent feature of the Manoogian Mansion party rumor has been the allegation that Kilpatrick's wife, Carlita, arrived at the party and assaulted an exotic dancer.

Douglas Bayer, described in a Michigan State Police report as an EMT with the Detroit Fire Department, said he arrived at the hospital on a call and "observed a large crowd in the reception area who were causing a commotion." He said the crowd of about 20-25 people included blacks and whites, males and females, some well-dressed, and "two individuals had Secret Service-type earpieces."

On the way out of the hospital, Bayer asked a group of EMT workers outside the hospital what the commotion was about and was told it related to an assault on a woman by the mayor's wife, the police report stated.

Kwame Says "STAY OUT!!!!!!!!"..Detroit Is Closed fo' Bid-Ness...

To all our readers who follow this story outside of city limits and to those within the city who believe that this scandal is a bump in the road, an attack by the media (read: white media) or is an anomaly being perpetuated by "haters" I introduce you to a story that just when KE "thought" he has reached his uptmost "pissoffness" (I created a new word just for my readers) then comes this B.S. that affects everybody:

Detroit loses major convention

DETROIT -- A major conference that was scheduled to come to Detroit next month has been canceled, possibly because of Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's text messaging scandal.

The National Conference of Black Mayors, scheduled to hold its annual meeting in Detroit in April, will be relocating to New Orleans, mayoral spokesman James Canning confirmed Friday.

"Unfortunately, we were unable to work out the logistics to ensure the annual convention could live up to the standards we have set as host city for Major League Baseball's All Star Game, Super Bowl XL and the World Series," he said in a statement. "We hope to have the opportunity to host the convention in the coming years."

Canning would not elaborate on why the conference was not coming to Detroit.

Detroit City Councilwoman Sheila Cockrel said she was unaware of the decision to move the convention. She said she was disappointed.

"It's unfortunate that a prestigious conference of this organization is taking a pass on Detroit. It appears now that the controversy swirling around the mayor now has an impact on the city."

Southfield Mayor Brenda Lawrence and Inkster Mayor Hilliard Hampton Jr. are listed on the organization's Web site as members.

Neither could be reached for comment about the change of venue.

The damn article was too nice. What really happened is that the organizers of the event contacted the Mayors office to confirm that Detroit could put on a show for it's 2,500 member body. The MAYORS office told them that (frankly speaking) they got too much shit going on - the Mayors going down and they are too busy trying to cover up all the other transgressions about to hit for them to welcome anyone to our fine city of Detroit. The convention said "fine, to New Orleans we go...." (KE could not have picked a better city heh, heh - they must have been reading my blog over this past weekend) Anyway, let's discuss this decision.

The estimated lost revenue of this convention is a minimum of 2-3 million DOLLARS. What Mayor in any city tells a convention NOT to come. What the hell!!!!! And what Mayor has the right to deny the citizens and business community revenue opportunity? Those that have an ego, those that believe that everything revolves around them and those who believe that they are appointed via a mission from God.

Trust me, the delegates from the conference couldn't have given a damn less if Kwame Kilpatrick spoke at one of their functions. You could have had the City Council President, the Governor, a host of people to handle that responsibility. These folks were coming to visit Detroit - not KwameLand even though apparently that's what he thinks it is.

It's apparent that this city will be stuck in this malaise until his ass is out of office - period.

KE

From Our Readers....

KE had to post this commentary from one of our readers as it was such on point. The one thing I don't like about Blogger is unless you click on the "comments" at the bottom of the post you may miss some good stuff- like this post. Catch my thoughts in italics......

kwame is a damn fool said...

yeah - the deposition is a great read. Fink really raked Ellen "Giggles" Ha over the coals. Glad to see Sharon McFailure think she is still a real lawyer by asking some lame questions, but the questions were WEAK babe. I suspect this is why Snead is divorcing you, but I digress. It is apparent that the city of detroit DOES NOT hire the best and the brightest lawyers. They were dumb enough to permit Fink to ask questions about the "facilitation" (wink wink) and then complained when the cat was out of the proverbial bag. Oooops. I think a lot of the lawyers on the city's side are going to get their tickets yanked not suspended.

The city attorneys were such at a disadvantage as it's hard to defend preventing a deponent from discussing fraud (in this instance perjury) on the court as it falls outside attorney client privilege. The theme from the City is "who gave up the messages?" versus dealing with the key question that it would have been nothing to give up (or reveal) if the perjurer wasn't trying to hide something. It's the classic "let's fool the uneducated negro who won't read this deposition" mantra.

You have obstruction,conspiracy, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, being fat and stupid (you Valerie Colbert), old and a waste of oxygen (yeah, you Sharon), and well, just being an un-hot Oriental babe who can't run in heels (I, mean Asian (read the Deposition and you'll get the joke)) - that's you Ellen. True, your husband is a doctor and all, but I don't think that is enough to save you, now is it?How do we get around this? Roll on Kwame. Tell the truth. Call Worthy and ask her to bring her tape recorder and stenographer. Tell everything. Bring the extra copies of Kwame's missives you have been saving for moments just like this (you know you did). Time to play Let's Cut a Deal. Otherwise, all 3 of your are looking at potential jail time.

That WOULD be nice if Kwame did that but at this point any resolution would result in his resignation (forced or otherwise) from office. His ego is too big for that. Kwame is one of those cats that when they go down - they go down hard Detroit style. He wouldn't have it any other way.

Yes, Sharon. THis includes you. Your "friends" at the National Bar Association can't save you. Actually, I am wrong. They DON"T WANT TO SAVE YOU. THEY DON'T LIKE YOU.The tribe has spoken.Oh and Chief Bully-Cummings. Since you are an attorney and all as well, you may want to dig out Gary Brown's file on Tamara Green you removed from his office when Beatty "unpromoted" him. (You do recall that class in law school dealing with evidence tampering, right?) Otherwise, I think there are some ladies on cellblock C that may want to teach you a new game called Lick the Kitty. hahahahaha.

There is such irony with Sharon. On a personal note, KE has known her and her staff for almost twenty years. Hell, I've even sat in her office while she was on City Council and at the time considered her a respective citizen of the city. At one time she was the checks and balances for the Kilpatrick administration and tried to do the right thing. How ironic that when she elected to fall on the right side of wrong by taking a six figure deal with the devil that the ultimate result is that not only Kwames political career will be over but hers as well. Talking about falling hard. And yes, if the transcript suggest her personality in relationships then no wonder David Snead is far, far away.

March 1, 2008 10:36 PM

Quick Kwame Hits......

Good Morning Live from Louis Armstrong Airport 7am in the mornin'........ (last time I take a flight this early but at least they have free wi-fi!).....



Quick Thoughts...





Folks from around the country start off conversations with me in this vain,



"So...what's up with your boy Kwame???"...(Then laughter ensues....)



Damn, we are the laughing stock of the country if not the world. But I have to admit..it is an engaging an salacious story....



Trying to keep track of what's happening back home the City Council has discovered that they can't remove the Mayor unless he's been found guilty via the court system. But a little known law allows them to take the case to the Governor for removal. I'm curious to see if she has the balls....er' bra strap to follow through. She's a lame duck Governor so what the hell....I'll have to change my poll though to make her an option.....



The deposition so far is a hoot. I'm up to page 100 (with 95+ to go) and the City Attorneys must have already objected a thousand times. The cover up was extensive and in any other city the Mayor would have already been thrown out prior to the records being released. Our city is so tolerable of B.S. but for once I'm glad that the forces to be aren't standing for it.



Got groped by a Baton Rouge honey...That was interesting! Vegas ain't got nothing on New Orleans. Bourbon Street is off the hizzy. My favorite sign...."Bottomless and Topless with Lap Dances...If nudity offends you - please don't enter...." Well alrighty then!!!!!


Gotta catch a flight.....



KE