No More Kilpatrick Columns on “Lavande & Chocolat Amer!” We’re On Strike Until The Trial!
The staff here at ‘Lavande & Chocolat Amer” have come to this sickening reality: We are sick and tired of being sick and tired of covering Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his never-ending and confusing antics. We are tired of trying to make some sort of sense out of the circus that is going on in Detroit. One reporter told us that “it is a real live zoo here in Detroit.”
We agree. That is why all of us here at “Lavande & Chocolat Amer” have decided to call a Kwame Kilpatrick “black out.”
Until the Kilpatrick-Beatty trial begins, we will no longer present stories about the embattled Detroit Mayor and the Detroit City Council. We do have one exception, however. The decision whether or not to remove the mayor that is to be handed down by Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm WILL be reported. This is the only exception.
We at “Lavande & Chocolat Amer” made this collective decision because our personal opinions about the mayor and his legal issues was beginning to cloud our journalistic integrity and steal our time. “Lavande & Chocolat Amer” is an African American news and commentary site that prides itself in being objective, neutral and opinionated according to the principles of journalism. We are NOT a 24 hour Kwame Kilpatrick news wire service, of which we had slowly become.
So, no more Kwame until his and Christine Beatty’s perjury and criminal misconduct trial in the Fall.
We’re on a “Kwame Kilpatrick Strike!”
Indepth Report And Commentary: Dexter King Countersues Siblings Over King Legacy
In another embarassing moment for the King family, Dexter King, who was slapped with a lawsuit by his siblings, Martin Luther King III and Rev. Bernice King weeks ago, filed a counter-suit in Fulton County Court in Georgia, Monday, August 18, 2008. The intial suit alleges that Dexter King mismanaged the King Center and the Estate of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Inc., of which he is the chairman of both, for his own profit and benefit.
In his counter-suit, Dexter King accuses his siblings of doing exactly the same thing.
The suit gives example after example of alleged misuse of the King Center by Bernice and Martin Luther King III. Dexter King alleges that his brother, King III, used the Center to hold his wedding reception without joint authorization. Dexter also alleges that King III has access to a $55,000 luxury sport utility vehicle that belongs to the King Center. Whereas, Bernice King, Dexter points out, uses the King Center to promote her own agenda. The lawsuit details a rally that was held at the Center in support of a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriages. Dexter points to the fact that the King Center philosophy and policy is one of inclusion as Dr. King stood for.
In a recent telephone interview, Dexter King was quoted as saying that “my siblings, Bernice in particular, was trying to use the King legacy to further their own personal and religious agendas.”
What a sad, sad, footnote in the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and his wife, Coretta Scott King. This family against family, sibling against sibling is straight up ridiculous! It is apparent that all three King children are at fault. They should know better than anyone else what their parents stood for. No one should have to remind them, but unfortunately, it seems like someone should. This lawsuit, both of them, is an embarrassment and a humiliation for all of us. How dare these three adult children of Dr. King and Coretta Scott King fight over a legacy that was given them through the assassinated blood of their father and the hard work, perseverance and loyalty of their mother!
Pointing fingers and pontificating empty, meaningless words is not what the Kings were about. Infighting and bringing one another to court most certainly happens to be the invisible and irreparable giant ink blot on the memorial to Dr. King that stands in Atlanta.
The lawsuit, both of them, is a waste of time and taxpayers money. Each King sibling could very well be guilty of misusage where the King Center is concerned and also guilty of mismanaging monies that rightfully belongs to the King Estate. It is very likely. But, the real solution should be a private one. The King siblings need to come together with a mediator and an outside accountant and conduct an audit. When the findings from the audit are known, then the King siblings should proceed from there. Starting from scratch. The beginning. A clean palate. This time, a checks and balances system should be inaugurated by the mediator so that accountability is expedient and fair.
However, if a judge hears this case, it will totally be out of the King siblings hands. The judge will do all of the things that was outlined in the previous paragraph and if the accounting isn’t exact, or just plain doesn’t add up, then someone is going down. Because if the accounting is found criminally fraudulent, then a King child is going to prison! If the accounting is found criminally tampered with, that means that taxes have been knowingly withheld from the U.S government; then WE ALL KNOW what that means. Prison time in the federal penitentiary.
So, King siblings, continue to act like stubborn, spoiled children, spitting on the foundation that your parents built and gave their lives for like the ungrateful children that you have become. Squabbling and playing tit for tat. If you don’t straighten this mess out before the courts get a hold of it, you’re gonna wish you had. What a horrible day it will be to see one of Dr. King’s children hauled off to the pen in hand-cuffs.
Donald Goins: A Legendary Author Revisited
I am the consummate reader. I truly am. I like variety. I like a full-bodied story. I like a story that can bring me into the plot and make me believe that I am right in the thick of the action. A novel has to capture my attention within the first two paragraphs. If not, it is a rarity that I continue reading. Being a book reviewer, I have read everything. Literally. Good novels, ugly novels. Sad novels, tragic novels. Romance novels, and Jackie Collins novels. I have also dabbled a bit into the ‘street’ or ‘urban’ novels.
With ‘street’ novels these days, there is an explosion of sorts. Omar Tyree claims to be the catalyst to the twenty-first century ‘street’ novel resurgence. Then there is my personal favorite, Vickie M. Stringer, publishing magnet of Triple Crown Publications. Vickie’s TCP happens to be the foremost publisher of ‘street’ fiction. Her company has gone international! But Vickie’s story begins after serving a bid in federal prison for being a drug ‘queen-pen’ in Columbus, Ohio’s biggest drug bust ever. Vickie decided to tell her story of life as a naive college girl, turned out and into street life by her drug dealing boyfriend in “Let That Be The Reason.” But she couldn’t find a publishing house that would take her manuscript. Always a sista trying to get her grime on, Vickie decided to self-publish her novel. Doing so, instead of hustling ‘in the life,’ Vickie M. Stringer turned her life story into a legitimate business where new authors, with a gritty story to tell, can do so freely.
Vickie Stringer, a Detroit native, is carrying the torch that another ‘hustler’ trailed years before. Detroiter and legendary author Donald Goins has sold over five million copies of his sixteen novels written in a five year time span. Goins was murdered execution style in his home in Highland Park, Michigan one evening in October 1974. His common-law wife, Shirley, was murdered right along side of him. Their two children were locked away in the basement.
Some say that Goins was murdered because of a drug debt. Others say that he was murdered because his novels were too realistic to be fiction. In other words, he supposedly talked too much about the wrong people. No one will ever know the full story because neighbors pleaded ignorance and legend has it that the killers were from out of town.
What is known, though, is that the body of work Donald Goins left behind is a prolific one. Getting his inspiration from reading an Iceberg Slim novel, Donald realized that he could legitimize his ‘street game’ by writing books about the world he was immersed in. Donald Goins wrote what he knew. He knew about pimping because he had been one. He knew about the dope game because he was a heroin addict. He knew about the ‘life’ because he lived it.
My first Donald Goins experience happened purely by accident. I was fourteen and a freshman in high school. My locker partner was reading this book she borrowed from her big sister titled “Donald Writes No More.” On the cover was a picture of this man in a casket holding some paperback books. First of all, I was freaked out by the cover. Is that a real dead man? In a casket? Next, this guy is a writer? When my friend finished the biography, I immediately grabbed it and took it home to read. I read it all in one night. I was intrigued and hooked.
From that point on, I was on a hunt for Donald Goins. I knew that his books weren’t in the school library. But the liquor store across the street from school had a few for sale. My first book? “Dopefiend.” Scared the crap outta me! I knew dopefiends, had personal experiences with them because they lived in my neighborhood. Practically next door. Okay. Next door. But to actually get a picture of how they operated and survived from day to day, I was scared straight! Then I had to buy “Whoreson.” The shock began at the very beginning of the book. A prostitute gives birth to a baby boy and decides to name him exactly what he was: a whore’s son. What? Names have a spiritual effect contrary to what some perceive. Donald Goins knew this particular bit of psychology when he penned “Whoreson.” Whoreson lived up to that name and much more.
From “Whoreson” I went into one of my favorite Donald Goins tales, that of a “Black Girl Lost.” Reading “White Man’s Justice, Black Man’s Grief,” I was given the realistic picture of the justice system as it existed in Detroit during Donald Goins’ life. When I was a teenager, a lot of the places that Donald Goins wrote about in his books were long gone. Either due to the expansion of I-75 or the destruction of the ’67 riots, those historic neighborhoods of Blackbottom survive only in the story-telling of Donald Goins classic books.
Those books, even though I read them in secret, gave me a clear cut choice of what I could become if I didn’t listen to my parents, teachers and mentors advice. I didn’t need to experiment with drugs because Donald Goins showed me a picture of myself as a dopefiend. I knew to avoid the sweet, slick talk of smooth hustlers driving Cadillacs and wearing flashy, showy jewelry with the flyest threads and gators, straight from City Slicker and The Broadway. Feigning any type of interest in that lifestyle could land me on the dark corners of Woodward between Six and Eight Mile. You get the idea.
As a writer, Donald Goins inspired me to press forward despite adversity. A life long addict, somehow Donald Goins was able to crank out the novels despite jonesing for another fix and surviving poverty. Though popular, Donald Goins was broke down poor. So broke that his wife walked the streets to put food on the table…and heroin in Donald’s veins. Donald Goins’ heroin addiction was overwhelming, all consuming and overpowering. Heroin, a chemical substance derived from a poppy plant, but far more powerful and addictive than any other drug on the street; changes the chemical balance of brain cells upon the first hit. This leads to instant addiction. Having first discovered heroin in Korea, Donald Goins suffered his entire adult life with the battle of chasing that heroin high. In his books, Goins true to life depictions of dopefiends, the realism of shooting up, chasing that ‘smack’ high, the horrible pains of withdrawal, are as vivid and bright as a Claude Monet original. This is because Donald Goins was writing from his own personal tragedy. I felt and believed that as a voyeur in his world.
So, every ‘street’ novelist has got to give it up to Donald Goins because he was the first to give it to you straight from his 232 Cortland flat. One more thing, a true ‘street’ novel isn’t something that is drummed up out of a fictitious mind entirely. True ‘street’ stories comes from first hand experience or knowledge. A reader can always tell the difference. It’s in the story-telling. It is legitimate. Not fake like Rick Ross.
Hip Hop, too, owes its’ existence to Donald Goins. But that topic is for a different dissertation.
Donald Goins writes no more…but he doesn’t have to. He left a piece of himself and the autobiographical seedy side of ‘street life’ for posterity. Donald Goins, in all sixteen of his novels, never sugar-coated or glossed over and glamorized what it meant to be ‘in the life.’ As his own life ended tragically and abruptly, so Donald Goins truthfully left the message, for all those generations after him that would pick up his books, that the moral of his tales are simple: ‘BEWARE! The streets will eat you alive…and whole.’
You Read It Here First! The Rotting Stench In Detroit Goes Deeper Than Kilpatrick
If you are an avid reader of “Lavande’ & Chocolat Amer,” then you are familiar with the assessment that was given here in regards to the state of affairs in Detroit. Though the calls for Mayor Kilpatrick’s head in the form of a resignation letter would be a slight improvement in Detroit, it would just be that…slight.
As was seen all over the country Thursday, justice is spelled grammatically different in Detroit, Michigan. Only in Detroit will you find an obvious and blatant “suspect” Circuit Court Judge name Leonard Townsend, practice his own tailored style of justice for a man that has been charged with multiple felony counts and found in violation of his bond. Because Mayor Kilpatrick is “an important person,” in Judge Townsend’s eyes, it is ”unfair” to impose a restrictive consequence to a defendant that has repeatedly shown contempt for the bond that he is under. The defendant shouldn’t have to wear an embarrassing electronic tether on his person so the Court can be well-informed of his movements. In Judge Townsend’s eyes, all of this is mere “silliness.”
Well, I do agree with Judge Townsend on that point: the silliness of this entire Kilpatrick saga.
Yes, it is “silly” for the mayor of a major city in the U.S. to be walking around with a tether on. But who caused this minor event to occur? The mayor himself by knowingly and purposely violating the conditions of his bond and landing his behind in jail. That was straight up “silly.” When the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department attempted to serve a subpoena on one of Kilpatrick’s friends at his sisters’ residence, and the mayor proceeded to instigate a shoving match, that was “silly,” too. Cheating on your wife like she is just a nobody that birthed three of your children, that is “silly.” You know that I can continue with this train of thought, right?
But Kwame Kilpatrick isn’t the worst part of Detroit’s problems. As I previously mentioned in a another column, Detroit needs to be cleaned from the top down. It is more than obvious to the world that a lot wrong with the city of Detroit stems from those who have the power or are a part of the power structure. With the performance of Judge Townsend, so alarmingly and appallingly on ‘the take,’ it is not hard to understand why Kwame Kilpatrick is still in office. How could a judge out and out, in front of the whole entire viewing audience, bend the rules with an ‘in you face’ sarcastic attitude and a smile, and the citizens of Detroit not riot?
It is because the rotting stench of back-door politicking has become a way of life in Detroit. While the mayor temporarily gains a victory because he “is an important person,” African American men in Detroit are being shuffled to jail for life on trumped up convictions just to close out a potential cold case. While it is okay for the mayor to ‘jump bail’ by “simply going across the street” to Canada, (which by the way IS a country, Councilwoman Barbara Rose Collins!) can the same be said for ole ‘Joe Blow’ on Kercheval? Doesn’t someone in his life deem him “important,” too?
So, the next African American man that comes through the court of Judge Townsend should expect, no deserves to be treated like the mayor was today, right? WRONG! The corruption going down in Detroit and that was on perfect display for the world to see, doesn’t begin or end with the resignation of Kwame Kilpatrick. He is just a minor player in these stench-drenched games.
Kilpatrick Analysis: A Study In What Should Reasonably Happen Next
The crisis that the city of Detroit faces is not an insurmountable one. Okay. I’ve said that. The next logical phase in this steady progression of bad government and worsening politics is not hard to decipher. It is just a matter of what is right and what is wrong. Unfortunately, in the world of twisted politics, what is viewed right is perceived to be wrong and what is wrong is applauded as ingenious politicking. Such as that quick stop “across the street” to Canada that Mayor Kilpatrick made days ago.
A lot of folks at this point are calling for the mayor’s resignation. Again. But this time around, those on the resignation bandwagon aren’t the card carrying ones from earlier this year. These new voices come from business and religious leaders. One religious leader in particular, the mayor’s former pastor, has publicly called for the mayor to step down. However, as this runaway train heads for a crash-landing, and believe me it will, is the calling for Kwame Kilpatrick’s resignation the key to healing a city that has been in crisis since the last breath of the Coleman Young years?
The resounding answer is shockingly: NO! Kwame Kiplatrick’s voluntary removal from mayoral duties can not even begin to fix what is deeply wrong with Detroit city government. Kilpatrick’s departure will only be a tiny band-aid on a gapping shot gun wound to the back. A band aid won’t stop the massive bleeding and the internal damage. Kwame Kilpatrick has been in office for almost seven years. The city, no matter what his administration offers in way of data, under Kilpatrick, has not benefited in the areas where it truly counts.
Neighborhoods, despite new development, are still languishing on the verge of existence and invisibility. Schools, schools that have a rich history in Detroit, are being closed down. Crime and violence has overtaken the city and no one seems to have a workable plan to combat it. The city streets are dirty and filthy with piles of garbage collecting in various corners due to the lack luster bulk pick up program. Most importantly, Detroit’s vulnerable citizens, seniors citizens, voices are being ignored and at times preyed upon. Major grocery stores have left the area and with it variety and comparison-shopping. Malls are steadily closing down. Transportation services are fraught with shortages, basically unsafe and unreliable.
How will the resignation of Kwame Kilpatrick save Detroit?
It won’t. It’ll feel really good, but won’t help Detroit’s situation. Kilpatrick knows this as well. He also knows that he isn’t the only one responsible for the chaos in Detroit. More than likely Mayor Kilpatrick feels that if he has to step down, a whole gang of folks should be packing up right alongside of him. Kilpatrick is absolutely correct. If Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick steps, everyone associated directly or indirectly has gotta go.
For instance, like Chief of Police Ella Bullings Cummings. Pack it up. Text messages show that she and a couple of others in the police department knew of the plan by former chief of staff and lover of Mayor Kilpatrick, Christine Beatty, to unjustly fire three Detroit Police officers simply because they did what the taxpayers of Detroit pays them to do. Folks have been charged, arrested and jailed falsely. Knowingly. Why? The Mayor wants to wrap up a case in the public eye immediately and Chief Cummings bows to the pressure and arrests innocent people, trashes their names in the media and then releases them silently through the back door of Police Headquarters.
Fire or ask for the resignation of every top head of ALL city departments. I mean one and all. Get rid of them. Both of my grandmothers have complained about being double-billed for city taxes. When they have rushed down to pay these taxes and questioned as to why their homes are being threatened with city and county foreclosure because of non-payment of taxes, when this is obviuosly not the case, the city officials told them both that this is a new taxing method that the city has. It was slipped under Detroit tax payers noses to get more fees. Huh? Fire them.
City Council? Get rid of them, too! Martha Reeves knows nothing from nothing about Detroit government and could really care less. It was because of name recognition and nostalgia for those “dancing in the street” Motown days that got her elected. Detroiters need to stop this nasty habit, too. That is how Alonzo Bates, Barbara Rose Collins and Monica Conyers were elected to the Council. Name recognition. Not job performance or potential. Send ‘em packing, too! Clear out all cronies aka friends and family that only want to collect a check and perks, too! These are a gigantic part of the equation as well. For more analysis, take a survey of people working in the Kilpatrick administration that are connected to or a direct descendant of a cronie. You will be greatly surprised at what you find.
When you have cleaned Detroit city government thoroughly, with bleach and Pine-Sol, you will be amazed at the lovely smell and atmosphere that will permeate through-out. A new, clear and sanitized atmosphere that will allow for some real healing and work to be done. The last time Detroit city government had a deep cleansing of this kind was back in the early seventies when the legendary Mayor Coleman Young swept through Detroit governmental offices like a hurricane. Okay. Like a handsome African American “Mr Clean.”
It has been almost thirty-six years since Detroit had a good cleansing. Don’t you think that it is waaay past due for another one?
“Black Moses,” Isaac Hayes, Dead At 65
Legendary singer-songwriter, producer, arranger, composer and actor Isaac Hayes was found dead at home by his wife early Sunday, Memphis police announced. Found near a still-running tread mill, Hayes was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. Isaac Hayes was 65.
The man many knew as “Black Moses,” Hayes made a name for himself as a songwriter at Stax Records writing major hits for Sam and Dave, The Emotions, Mable John and Carla Thomas. But in 1969, things changed dramatically for Isaac Hayes. With the release of his debut album, “Hot Buttered Soul,” Isaac Hayes was on his way to becoming a icon. With deep, rich and lush orchestrations that rose to a orgasmic crescendo, Hayes was able to transform soul music into a totally new listening experience.
Bald, black and beautiful, with a huge long gold-chain like rope cascading from his body, Isaac Hayes embodied a feeling in time that enraptured Afro-America. His stance was one of a strong, talented and inspirational African America man, even though there were some in Caucasian American who were threatened by this beautiful specimen of a man.
Isaac Hayes went on to score the cult classic, “Shaft,” which made him and the tough but debonair ladies man Richard Roundtree famous. Hayes was recognized for his stellar composition and scoring of “Shaft” with an Academy Award. He was the first African American to walk away with the statute in the category of “Best Film Score.”
Isaac Hayes made nine consecutive albums between 1969 and 1979. Some of the favorites are: “Hot Buttered Soul,” Black Moses,” “Joy,” “Live at the Sahara Tahoe,’ and “Chocolate Chip.” Isaac Hayes was the recipient of three Grammy Awards and numerous other accolades.
To the newer generation, Isaac Hayes portrayed the witty and wise ‘Chef’ on Comedy Central’s “South Park.” His tenure there was interrupted by his rumoured displeasure with “South Park” writers over a proposed episode that poked fun at Christian Scientists, a faith that Hayes practiced.
Issac Hayes, a symbol of musical genius, dead at 65.
“That was my man,” long-time fan Francine Stigler reminisced late Sunday afternoon. “I used to play his music from sun up to sun down!”
You sure did, Mom.
Movie Star/’Original King Of Comedy’/Hit Television Show Creator, Bernie Mac, Dead at 50!
The Associated Press has just reported that one of ‘The Original Kings of Comedy,’ Bernie Mac has died as a result of serious complications from pneumonia. Bernie Mac was 50.
An inspiring and multi-talented African American man, Bernie Mac was able to parlay a past-time into a fortune. Growing up poor and living on a diet of “bologna for dinner,” Mac once said, “it was through a little luck and perseverance” that he was able to transcend a poverty-stricken existence to star in some of Hollywood’s notoriously financial blockbusters such as, “Bad Santa,” the “Ocean’s Eleven” franchise, “Transformers,” “Friday,” “Get On The Bus,” and the stellar “Original Kings of Comedy” tour and documentary by Spike Lee. Currently Mac has two films in post production.
“The Bernie Mac Show,” a magnificent sitcom about raising his drug-addicted sister’s children in California, earned Mac the prestigious Peabody Award in 2002. When the “Bernie Mac Show” premiered, it took America back to the “Cosby Show” with excellent values, realistic situations, a loving married African American couple that formed a stable nucleus to sustain a family. The major problems came with FOX constantly changing the date and time slot of the show due to so-called ‘low’ ratings. Despite the ratings and movement of “The Bernie Mac Show,” it continued to win numerous NAACP awards and was beloved by the African American community.
Bernard Jeffrey McCullough, born October 5, 1957, also known as Bernie Mac, “was a good father, raised his kids. My heart goes out to his family. This is a heartbreak,” lamented fellow “Original Kings of Comedy” stand-up comic, morning show host and friend Steve Harvey. “My heart goes out to his family,” Harvey said this morning.
Bernie Mac…Dead at 50.
The Kilpatrick Aftermath: Was It All Part Of A Plan?
Mayhem has literally broken out on the streets of Detroit. Protesters have formed outside of city government offices with placards and voices screaming, “Free Kwame! Free our Mayor!” Dissension is in the air and the citizens of Detroit are at one anothers throats over the Mayoral Madness.
But could this all perhaps be a part of the master plan? What master plan, you ask? The plan to run away with a legal victory in favor of Kwame Kilpatrick. Far fetched? Could be. But the facts, however, proves the case.
Why would Mayor Kilpatrick knowingly break the statutes of his bond just to go across the bridge for a 90 minute meeting? Especially after Judge Giles had specifically told him not to appear before his court with another bond violation or else? Being the mayor of a large and thriving city, Kwame is used to the usual above and below board perks. Isn’t one of those perks being able to contact any judge in the city of Detroit, informing and requesting an okay to handle “emergency” city business? Does anyone really believe that a judge would turn down this request? As the mayor, what red tape existed that Kilpatrick patriots could not have cut in an expedited fashion to save a city in crisis?
Kilpatrick has top-notch legal representation that he pays enormous fees to, or so he alleges. Did he perhaps run this emergency past them? Did they agree to his scheme to run across the bridge to save the city of Detroit? Did they warn him of what would be the out-come if he violated the conditions of his bond?
Or did they encourage him to do so?
Ponder this: Prosecutor Kym Worthy has a pretty strong case against Kwame Kilpatrick. She has text-messages. She has public apologies. She has the resignation of Christine Beatty. She has piles and piles of testimony from the civil lawsuit that cost Detroit taxpayers nearly nine million dollars. She has an open and shut case for perjury and criminal misconduct. Any “Law and Order” fan will accurately surmise this. How can you beat a case with this much evidence?
Strategy. With all the media and citizen hoopla going on in Detroit, where will the Kilpatrick legal minds find an unbiased jury? A jury without passion or a jury who could really care less in the city of Detroit? EVERY ONE has an opinion in the ‘D.’ With Kilpatrick’s arrest yesterday, which made nationwide headlines, will it be hard to get a change of venue? Take the trial to Howell, or Flint, or Northville. Anywhere but Detroit. Anywhere the population is resistant and neutral to Kilpatrick and the climate can be manipulated.
Would Kwame Kilpatrick, who claims ”I listen to my attorneys,” go along witha plan that included an over-night stay in the Wayne County Jail, simply to deconstruct and prepare a whole new case, complete with new faces and places? If this is the plan, IF this is the plan, Kym Worthy gets part of her wish granted. It is true that the 36th District Court may lean a great deal towards the Kilpatrick administration. IF the hypothetical plan succeeds, then the motion to change venue is more than likely.
YET, taking the trial that has affected every living soul in Detroit for almost six years now, out of the city limits, PERIOD, is not a good thing. Maybe Kwame’s attorneys have found a way to beat an air tight case of solid truth with a technicality.
It happens all the time.
Contributed by Lavande’ & Chocolat Amer Staff Writer Shala-LaNice Stigler and Editorial Director Tracey Ricks Foster
Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick Released On $50,000 Bond! Faces New Set Of Charges
Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, jailed Thursday for violating his bond, was released on a new restrictive bond this morning by Judge Thomas Jackson. The terms of that modified restrictive bond includes a $50,000 cash bond, Mayor Kilpatrick will wear an electronic tether device and all travel, business or pleasure, will be suspended.
In other Mayoral news: Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox has formally charged Kilpatrick with two felony assault counts or obstructing an officer of the law. This occurred when Wayne County deputies attempted to serve a friend of the Mayor’s at his sister’s residence last month. Kilpatrick, present at the home, incited a struggle with the deputies. If convicted, Mayor Kilpatrick could face up to two years on each count and a $2,000 fine.
Detroit City Council Meets To Discuss Mayor’s Plight This Morning
Detroit City Council members are meeting in their chambers at this hour discussing mayoral forfeiture proceedings. This meeting was scheduled before Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was shipped to the Wayne County Jail for violating his bond.
In a stunning twist of events, the Detroit City Council finds itself in a more poised position to successfully wrestle control of the City of Detroit from its’ embattled mayor. Governor Jennifer Granholm has agreed to begin mayoral removal proceedings on September 3rd, per the request of the Detroit City Council.
Late Thursday, Council President Ken Cockeral, Jr. said that it is a “very unfortunate saga that we hope draws to a conclusion real soon.” Barbara Rose Collins, Detroit City Council member expressed her feelings on the matter:
“I think he (Kilpatrick) should resign. I don’t like those Kilpatricks. The fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree.”
Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm Set Hearing Date For Kilpatrick Removal Talks
Not wanting to get in the middle of the tug of war struggle between Detroit City Council and Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, a war which has been raging for seven months now, Gov. Jennifer Granholm has decided to get her feet wet.
Thursday evening, a representative from the Michigan Governor’s Office announced that Gov. Granholm had indeed set a hearing date for September 3, 2008, in order to hear arguments regarding the removal of Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick from office. More than likely, Gov. Granholm was forced to reconsider her neutral stance after the jailing of Kilpatrick Thursday.
Detroit City Council asked Gov. Granholm to intervene in the process of removing Kilpatrick from his mayoral duties soon after the mayor was indicted on misconduct and perjury charges stemming from the firing of three police officers, and an alleged affair with his top aide, Christine Beatty.
Detroit Mayor’s MugShot Released; Wayne County Sheriff Holds Press Conference
Another one for the scrapbooks. Jailed Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s mugshot has been released to the public. This is his second mugshot in months. Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was jailed Thursday afternoon after a 36th District Court judge found him guilty of violating the terms of his bond.
Wayne County Sheriff Warren Evans held a press conference Thursday afternoon, after the Mayor was safely transported to the Wayne County Jail in Downtown Detroit.
“The Mayor will be treated no better or no worse than every other prisoner in the same situation in the Wayne County Jail,” Evans explained. “The Mayor will be put in a restrictive area for high profile people. This goes in accordance with the policies that dictate how to handle high profile prisoners.”
Wayne County Deputy Sheriff Warren Evans also added that because of the altercation that the Mayor incited between himself and a Wayne County sheriff a few weeks back, Kilpatrick’s involvement with the inside administration ”will be restricted to some extent.” Mayor Kilpatrick will have access to his attorneys and allowed a visitor within 24 hours.
Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick Apologizes To Court; Yet Places Blame And Makes More Excuses For Actions!
Thursday morning, Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick stood before 36th District Court Judge Ronald Giles and said “I’m sorry.”
“This is not an affront to you and this court…I have been doing the best of my ability. I always listen to my attorneys and I am trying to be a good mayor.”
With that, Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick went into his litany of excuses for why he knowingly and consciously broke the terms of his bond on July 23. The first target? The media. “I have been under intense media scrutiny for the past seven months.” He then started to elaborate about the numerous helicopters and reporters that follow him every day. “That reporter right over there,” Mayor Kilpatrick pointed out in the court room, “sits outside my house every day.”
Then Kilpatrick blamed “the $300 million dollar deficit that was left to me by the previous administration.” That would be former Mayor Dennis Archer. He indirectly blamed the Windsor City Council for nearly letting the Detroit/ Windsor Tunnel fall through the cracks. If it was not for his own quick thinking and timing, Mayor Kilpatrick explained, the City of Detroit would have eventually come to a screeching halt.
“If I didn’t dig in to get this deal back on track,” Kilpatrick rattled on, “700 police officers would have lost their jobs, fire fighters would be laid-off and recreation centers would have to close.”
Which is why Mayor Kilpatrick made the “emergency decision” to make a quick jaunt across the tunnel to “make a presentation to the Windsor City Council and I succeeded,” meaning he was able to convince the Windsor City Council to go along with the deal to run the Detroit side of the tunnel. “I respect the process and I did violate the bond because the Windsor City Council had decided to veto the deal,” Kilpatrick confessed boldly. So, the blame also is shared with the Windsor City Council.
He concluded his statement by saying: ”I told my sons to watch these proceedings because I did something wrong. I’m not disrespecting you or this court or the City of Detroit.”
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