car7858det2ny's Blog

DETROIT -- A judge on Thursday ordered Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to jail, shocking the city and plunging the leadership of the nation's 11th-largest city into uncertainty.

Despite a plea from Kilpatrick that invoked his sons, his respect for the judicial process and his love of the city, 36th District Judge Ronald Giles was unmoved. He revoked Kilpatrick's bond, ordering him to jail on a bond violation for a July 23 trip to Windsor.

As Kilpatrick's lips quivered, Giles ended a short speech by concluding: "If it was not Kwame Kilpatrick sitting in that seat, if it was John Six-Pack sitting in the seat, what would I do? That answers something. So I go back to my original, 'Keep it simple.'

"That's what I have to do ... the court is revoking your bond, that all travel be suspended, and two, that you to be remanded to Wayne County Jail."

Wayne County sheriff's deputies were expected to pick up Kilpatrick from 36th District Court at noon and transport him to the main jail on St. Antoine, said John Roach, a spokesman for Sheriff Warren Evans. At 11:30 a.m., he said deputies were still working out lodging arrangements, such as whether Kilpatrick will be in solitary confinement.

Kilpatrick will spend the night in jail. His attorneys immediately appealed to Wayne Circuit Judge Thomas E. Jackson, who said he will hear the appeal at 9 a.m. Friday. Conceivably, Kilpatrick could be released if he posts his entire $75,000 bond.

The order from Giles came after Kilpatrick threw himself at the court's mercy, acknowledging he violated the terms of his bond with the trip.

He said he instructed his sons to watch the proceedings because he respects the process so much. Appearing contrite, he said he is under "tremendous strain and scrutiny" but traveled to Windsor to revive a sagging deal to sell the city's share of the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel and avert 2,000 layoffs looming in September without the $65 million deal.

"I respect this process more than I've respected any process in my life and I'm sorry," said Kilpatrick, who wore a gray suit.

"I did violate the conditions of this bond."

A lawyer, Kilpatrick said his life has been "revolutionarily transformed" by the criminal case and "transformed by a media that doesn't know me at all. I ask for your forgiveness. It will never happen again."

Giles wasn't convinced. Earlier in the proceeding, he asked Kilpatrick's attorney, James C. Thomas, why he had to learn about the case from the media.

"Who was dying? Who was sick?" Giles asked.

"The city of Detroit," Thomas said.

In sending Kilpatrick to jail, Giles said:

"I don't in any way claim to have a good understanding of what your responsibilities are and what you do," he said. "I do understand you have to be under a tremendous amount of pressure and how that can affect you. But I have to look at how the system is run and is perceived by the public.

"I don't care what the media says about me. I really don't. I never have. I try to do what I think is right and fair...

"In this case, in the beginning, you were given every privilege that could be given to you in regards to travel, totally unrestricted initially. (Later) I felt you were abusing the privilege, and I modified the bond."

The mayor's bottom lip stuck out, and he had his fingers to his mouth as Giles spoke.

It's unclear who is running Detroit.

Councilwoman Sheila Cockrel said she has formally requested an answer from the mayor's office who is acting as mayor. Kilpatrick's No. 2, Anthony Adams, has left for another post.

"It's a tragedy," Cockrel said. "It's a tragedy for the mayor's family and the city. The mayor needs to resign and end this for all of us in this city and region."

Council President Kenneth V. Cockrel Jr. said the latest development should increase pressure on Kilpatrick to step down. Kilpatrick has resisted those calls since he was charged in March.

"It's just another unfortunate chapter," he said. "This is another set of world wide headlines that make us an international punch-line.

"Behind the scenes, momentum for him to go is building," Cockrel said.

But he's not convinced that it will change Kilpatrick's grip on his job.

"I'm not in his head," Cockrel said. "I don't see how the city's best interests are served by prolonging the agony with this.

"It's not good for the region and not good for the state."

Cockrel said he has a 100-day plan if he has to take over as mayor, but declined to get into specifics.

"Should it become necessary, I am prepared to step up and do what I need to do," Cockrel said. "It started thinking about it a couple months ago."

Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor Robert Moran had asked the judge to revoke the bail -- and at the very least restrict his travel -- because Kilpatrick "isn't taking responsibility" for violating his bond with the 45-minute trip to Windsor.

"He didn't notify anyone ... he left country, he left the state ...but we found out about it from the media," Moran said. "That is a flagrant violation of bond."

"This is just not serious to him," Moran said. "We want the travel cut off ... this court should be outraged."

An attorney for Kilpatrick, James Parkman, said Giles' order did not come as a surprise.

"There are some options that are less extreme," Parkman said, referring to tethering and restricted travel

The jailing came after Kilpatrick and his former chief of staff, Christine Beatty, waived their right to a preliminary hearing in multiple felonies and agreed to proceed directly to trial.

The July 23 trip also happened the day before Kilpatrick allegedly had a physical confrontation with a Wayne County sheriff's detective that resulted in Giles increasing the mayor's personal recognizance bond to 10 percent of $75,000, tightening his travel restrictions and ordering random drug tests.

One of Kilpatrick's lawyers said Wednesday that he also expects the mayor will be charged soon by state Attorney General Mike Cox in connection with the July 24 incident in which Kilpatrick is alleged to have shoved Wayne County Detective Brian White, the chief criminal investigator on the case, on the front porch of the home of the mayor's sister, Ayanna.

White and prosecutor's investigator JoAnn Kinney testified at a bond hearing before Giles on July 25 that they were attempting to serve a subpoena on Bobby Ferguson, a city contractor and friend of Kilpatrick's who was expected to testify at the preliminary examination.

Also, Kilpatrick and Beatty are accused of lying under oath to cover an affair and the firing of a deputy police chief; and misleading the City Council into an $8.4 million settlement with a secret side agreement to keep secret hide text messages that allegedly reveal the lies.

Both were charged March 24 with multiple crimes that carry a maximum of up to 15 years in prison. Although a preliminary examination where a judge decides if there is enough evidence to bind defendants over for trial in Wayne County Circuit Court usually happens within 14 days, battles over evidence in this case caused Giles to delay the probable cause hearing until Sept. 22.

The Rev. Horace Sheffield, a leader on a fund to raise money for the mayor, said he hopes the mayor will offer up some sort of deal to put an end to the situation.

"I love the mayor like my own son," Sheffield said. "But even my son at some point would have to learn to abide by the restraints he placed upon himself."

"While the mayor should be working himself out of this, he's giving others further reasons to bury him," Sheffield said. "My prayers are with him. I would hope that at some point that he would recognize how serious this is."

Political consultant Sam Riddle, a onetime adviser to Councilwoman Monica Conyers, said Kilpatrick will go to jail "because of his own arrogance."

"It's a good lesson for him. No one is above the law. He's always behaved as if he was above the law," Riddle said.

"If he really loved the city like he says he does, he would step down now. But he won't do that because he's selfish and self-serving."

 

 

This video I made shows that apparently Detroit City Council's Barbara "Racist" Collins dosen't recognise who really has the power in this state; Her statement saying that Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm "wouldn't touch this issue with a 10 foot pole and if she did, the people of the city of Detroit would rebel". REALLY??? Who do they plan on rebelling against, pray tell Barbed Wire Collins? Is that the insinuation of a threat towards the Governor & the people? Meantime, Council "members" Mouthica Conyers & JoAnn Watson seem to think that this issue should play out it's course in the court system, costing the city & county taxpayers more money. Note also how Ms. Watson seems to think that the city council attorney Bill Goodman should not recommend that the Governor get involved. Note also that Council President Ken Cockrel encourages the Governor to get involved so the city can begin to get past this issue & move in a positive direction. So he wants to be Mayor-Anyone would do a better job than Kilpatrick, no doubt. In my opinion and I'm certain many others, the city would never survive another riot and I hope that if they do, they take notice that this is not 1967, the crimes were committed by their own people in their own culture, and today's technology in the Michigan National Guard would set down this "rebellion" before it even gets off the ground. It is simply pathetic that some people think if they can't take/touch what isn't theirs in the first place, they will destroy it so no one else can have/enjoy it. I encourage the Governor to take note of Collins' "threat" and take appropriate actions to show Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, his corrupt co-horts and his supporters who really runs the show in this state when necessary. Check the video & see what you think. Opinions?

I notice some use the politics of war rather than face the facts of the issue in Iraq; Oil is a major world commodity & POWER. If this POWER were to fall into the wrong hands, say any given Anti-American group or faction like the Muslims, the Shiites, Iraqi/Iranian militants, Terrorists with/without allegiance to any country the balance of power the United States and other free countries now enjoys would be extremely shifted. Not to mention the cowardly attacks on our World Trade Center, our Pentagon and the thousands of lives lost in those buildings & planes. I defy anyone that states their "opinion" based on politics to visit with the loved ones of those innocent victims lost in these tragedies on our homeland. See the pain & angish in their faces, losing their loved ones for no apparent reason other than to incite terrorism & mass confusion. Also note their American Patriotism for our fighting men & women in the armed forces, fighting for rights & fredoms many take for granted. Jeez, some Americans have really changed when it comes to backing our country, our military & our Flag since the World Wars. I ask a simple question to those who choose to hate on our military with some type of personal politcal agenda and/or view-Where is your American Pride? Display it proudly & be thankful to those that do a job most cannot even comprehend. Opinions?

To those that claim some try to insist racism is over; Many say racism is never over because it is proven time & time again by these so-called "civil rights groups & activists" that are so one-sided in their views & opinions. Look at the Detroit Mayor's racist State Of The City speech where he called people "outsiders & lynching mobs", not to mention dropping the "n' bomb that was supposedly buried. Look at Rev. Wrights' racist remarks heard around the nation & the world, Rev. Sheffields' remarks concerning Oakland County & L. Brooks Patterson because he wouldn't sit in on the Cobo Expansion, Look at Barbara Rose-Collins statement saying that having a white suburbanite on a city board is "akin to the slave-master mentality', look at Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick calling out the masses to protect her thug son with racist remarks directed at the suburbs and the list here in the Metro Detroit area alone could go on & on. And I'm certain many major cities elsewhere have similar issues. Then the question must be answered, who really are the racists in today's society as a whole & why? Who is always the first to look at color before morals, character, and truth? Who has the ludicrous mentality to believe that "Jim Crow Laws" still exist in today's society? Why would any culture need Affirmative Action instead of standing in the same line as all Americans do? Decent Americans of all cultures eyes are opening wider by the day; America is becoming sick of the same broken record being remixed and/or twisted to fit any negative issue concerning color. Becoming part of the problem & not part of the solution is the answer so many of all cultures avoid. Racism may exist in all cultures, but some of those cultures use it as an excuse & a way of everyday life. Racism basically stays alive to support whatever ludicrous negative actions are claimed against any particular culture in today's society. Many can read between the lines and thank God today's new generation is getting past all of this drama & learning to live, work and play together. Be Americans united first because if our country is ever attacked, many can bet they won't be racial profiling that's for sure. My opinion, what's yours?

Newark, New Jersey-A federal jury convicted ex-Mayor Sharpe James and his former mistress Wednesday of corruption stemming from the cut-rate sale of city land. James was found guilty on all five charges he faced, including fraud and conspiracy. Under federal guidelines, he could face seven to eight years in prison, but a judge could impose as much as 20 years on some individual counts. James could also be stripped of pensions that provide a six-figure annual income. His ex-girlfriend, Tamika Riley, was convicted on the same five charges and eight others, including evading taxes and cheating to obtain subsidized housing assistance for herself. She faces a similar possible sentence. Neither James nor Riley showed any emotion as the verdicts were read. The two and their lawyers declined comment afterward.Both remain free on bail. Sentencing was set for July 29. "Sharpe James used the power of his office for his own self-gratification," U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie said outside court. State Attorney General Anne Milgram, whose office investigated and prosecuted the case with federal authorities, said the verdict showed the jury rejected "the cancerous form of government that Sharpe James presided over." The jury deliberated about 30 hours over six days at a courthouse just a block from City Hall, where James led New Jersey's largest city for 20 years until 2006. Riley, 39, was a publicist who once ran a clothing boutique in the same neighborhood. Prosecutors charged that the 72-year-old James, who was also a Democratic state senator from 1999 to January 2008, abused his office as mayor and betrayed his constituents by arranging for the sale of nine city-owned properties for $46,000 to Riley from 2001 to 2005. Riley quickly sold them for $665,000 without ever starting required rehabilitation work on most of them, prosecutors said. James' attorneys argued that no evidence showed that the mayor assisted Riley or even had knowledge of her transactions, and that the mayor's interest in redeveloping the struggling city was well within the scope of his duties. They stressed that the Newark City Council, not the mayor, had final approval over the land prices and sales. James' team presented only two witnesses, both members of the council, who said James never tried to influence their decisions. Riley lawyer Gerald Krovatin blamed her real estate lawyers for failing to protect her from missteps in the land deals. He said she got no special treatment because of her affair with James, a married man twice her age, and claimed she was swept up in the investigation of James only because of their "intimate" relationship. Krovatin told the jury that the affair lasted just six months, ending in the fall of 2002. Prosecutors suggested the affair lasted several years, with one witness saying it started around 2000 and went to 2006. Neither James nor Riley testified during the trial, which had five weeks of testimony from 40 witnesses. Jurors got some sense of the power James wielded in the city and the state, and learned that he had a home on the Jersey shore and yachts - possessions that had long raised eyebrows around the state. They did not hear about his last mayoral election, in 2002, when he defeated the current mayor, Cory A. Booker, in a bitter campaign chronicled in the Oscar-nominated documentary film "Street Fight." James is one of the most powerful figures snared in a federal corruption probe and one of the few to plead not guilty. He still faces a federal trial on charges he used city-issued credit cards to pay for $58,000 worth of personal expenses while he was mayor, including trips with several women other than his wife, to Martha's Vineyard, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Rio de Janeiro. Car7858's Notes: What makes Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick any different or better? Have the people of Detroit any morals, dignity & respect left or are they willing to be the blind led by the blind? In my opinion, the beginning of the end is drawing near for Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, starting on June 9th, 2008 at the start of the trial here in Detroit. Our Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy has made 12 criminal charges against both Kwame Kilpatrick and his former city associate Christine Beatty-Only ONE of those 12 charges needs to stick for the Mayor to be booted. Take notice, Mayor Kilpatrick & keep believing you are above the laws that govern all-Your time for judgement is getting closer.

Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama — Get in the ring.

That’s the challenge from WWE, which has issued an open invitation to the deadlocked Democrats to settle their differences “the American way — in a wrestling match.”Seriously.World Wrestling Entertainment aired the video invitation Tuesday, calling for a bona fide smackdown on Monday night RAW April 21.

“What we’re trying to do is provide both Senator Clinton and Senator Obama an opportunity to speak to more than 8 million viewers of our program … which is the night before the Pennsylvania primary,” WWE spokesman Gary Davis told FOXNews.com.What exactly the world of professional wrestling expects Clinton and Obama to do in that ring is unclear.The announcer in the ad, now on the WWE Web site, declares, “Forget about who’s better prepared when the phone rings at 3 a.m., and find out who’s better when the bell rings.”

So what? An arm wrestling match? A very aggressive debate? A cage fighting tournament?“I think the invitation itself is self-explanatory,” Davis said. “Get into the ring and resolve their differences.”The professional wrestling sector has been relatively quiet on the political front ever since “Nature Boy” Ric Flair stopped tag teaming with Mike Huckabee. But Davis said all the while WWE has had an aggressive “SmackDown Your Vote” program to get young voters registered.

Davis said WWE is still in talks with both candidates over the proposed match.

Click here to see the WWE invitation to Clinton and Obama.

Now lets see; It can't be a "Hell In A Cell" match because they have had that in virtually every U.S. city. It couldn't be a "Ladder Match" because they would probably forget to bring the ladder! I got it!!! Let's have a "No Holds Barred" Match with Bill Clinton & Rev. Wright as the Guest Referrees! LOL. Then The Undertaker could come in at the end & Tombstone Piledriver all of them!!! Any Suggestions???

 

Shut down Detroit's dropout factories

Bulldozers ought to be rolling across Detroit, leveling public schools that are trapping children in poverty and ignorance. An army of civil rights lawyers ought to be marching up the steps of the federal courthouse on behalf of students being denied their basic right to a decent education by a chronically incompetent school system. No other response is adequate to the report that Detroit Public Schools graduates just 25 percent of its students. That news last week should have rocked this city with outrage. It isn't just a cold statistic -- its thousands of children each year who are washed out of the game before they even reach adulthood. Most will end up either in prison or on welfare. The link between the dropout rate and the crime and poverty rates is indisputable. Seventy percent of Michigan prison inmates are high school dropouts, as are 40 percent of the state's welfare recipients. And most will be supported by taxpayers their entire lives.

Detroit School Superintendent Connie Calloway has a plan to dismantle five of Detroit's worst schools and replace them with smaller, more responsive schools staffed by new administrators and teachers. Good for her. But Calloway is counting on those responsible for the current failure to implement her new strategy. Maybe she has enough dedicated, student-minded educators on staff to make the five chosen schools work. But what about the rest?

No additional evidence is needed to conclude the Detroit Public Schools can't be fixed. Three decades of one reform effort after another have produced a district with the worst big-city dropout rate in America. Detroit Public Schools should cease to exist as a teaching body. Calloway has the power under the federal No Child Left Behind Act to close any school that hasn't met performance standards for six years. Nearly every school in Detroit falls into that category. She should shut down those schools and fire everyone in them. She should replace the DPS schools with highly accountable schools run by private vendors screened, hired and monitored by the district, and free to hire teachers and principals whose jobs depend on producing better results.

The Detroit school system could still operate the handful of schools that are meeting federal standards, but even those would benefit from being spun off. The corrupt contractors, parasitic preachers and union do-nothings who have sucked the district dry will try to make shutting down any school district building into a racial issue, as they always do. But I can't think of anything more racist than denying Detroit's predominately African-American students the same education that their white, suburban counterparts take for granted. Not another dime of taxpayer money should go to subsidize this failure. Nor should the future of another Detroit child be destroyed by a school system that will never get it right.

If a 25 percent graduation rate doesn't make Detroit parents angry enough to demand radical change from the education system, nothing will.

 

Is mayor scandal symptom of bigger problems?

Sometimes the worst of times are the best times to move forward together. During the past 18 months, a series of self-inflicted body blows have damaged Michigan's image across the country and around the world.

• State lawmakers couldn't pass a balanced budget before a constitutional deadline, resulting in a partial shutdown of state government.

• To implement that balanced budget, policymakers adopted a tax that simply made no sense, and had to go back to repeal it within hours of its effect.

• We went through months of worldwide ridicule about whether or not a Ph.D. from India or anyone else who immigrated here to work for one of our major companies could get a driver's license.

• We left our many voters out of the most hotly contested presidential selection process in recent history.

• And now, the mayor of our state's largest city faces trial.

For too long, Michigan has been in a fight with itself: Republican vs.Democrat; city vs. suburb; West Side vs. East Side; Downstate vs. Up North; black vs. white. For too long, this fight has been more important than progress. We've often focused more on placing blame than achieving results. Now our state faces another test. It is not my intent to condemn Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick or to condone his actions. Decisions about his future can only be made by legal processes, or by the mayor himself. But the voices of those who want to blame an entire city for the alleged actions of one person are already whispering across Michigan. That "blame game" has prevented progress in Michigan on critical needs long ago resolved by other regions with signature cities: mass transit; shared regional infrastructure and shared responsibility for important cultural and exhibition spaces that happen to be in the central city; and acceptance that a state, its regions, and its cities must work in concert to compete in the global economy.

During the past several years, decisions made by Detroit, together with the help of both the business community and state government, have allowed Michigan's largest city to turn the corner. Anyone who visits the stadium district or the riverfront or Greektown must agree that momentum exists. But what we have accomplished thus far is not enough. Here's the simple truth: Michigan cannot be a world-class state until Detroit is a world-class city. This is not a goal. It's a requirement. To accomplish it, we cannot allow the mayor's legal problems to distract us from working together to develop what Detroit critically needs. We cannot allow the future of Detroit and Michigan to be squandered in ongoing and fruitless argument.

Now is the time for all who care about our state's future to step up, focus and act. Michigan leaders, Detroit's legislative delegation, its business leaders, other regional leaders and all engaged residents must not be distracted from taking the critical steps that will bring prosperity to Detroit and Michigan. We have come too far, and have too far yet to go, to stop now.

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, top right, and former Chief of Staff Christine Beatty are accused of lying under oath about an affair and their roles in the firing of police officers.

On April 4th, 2004, I began a journey and an honest effort to begin recovery. Also, I met my fiance whom I will marry on June 15th of this year. These are two very significant events in my life and today, exactly four years later, I can celebrate a double anniversary with pride. I give credit where credit is due to myself and to my sprituality, which is a big part of the programs. But I also want to share these anniversaries with you, the MyFox news team and all of the bloggers. Because by keeping me busy in not only the MyFox Detroit website, but also in 12 other sister MyFox city websites I have been able to focus better on my recovery. We may or may not agree all the time but that is the nature of this business. I hereby applaud all of you that have read and/or commented on my posts as well as the many posts I have commented on; Because you have been part of a miracle-My recovery-And I can't thank all of you enough. So give yourselves a pat on the back and know that I am thankful for you keeping me busy in these blogs & believe it or not, YOU ARE helping me stay in recovery-KKEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!!!

I am quite amazed at some of the posts in here since the recent news of Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow's husband being caught with a hooker; I find it typical how some can brand all men as dirt and never seem to tell both sides of the story. Now first of all, I am not condoning his actions & I am a firm believer that no one should cheat on their spouse or companion. But it seems that guys are always open season when these types of stories hit the airwaves, Just like many of the MyFox Detoit's Love Doctor's posts & news stories that always seem to state what the guy should do to make the relationship better-What about the woman? Seldom heard are the stories of guys that are creeped on or mentally abused by women-I know because I have caught quite a few of my ex's either sleeping with someone, lying, and even stealing things from me. I now have a very nice fiance named Regina, who is the exception to the rule of some abusive women-She has always been in my corner and we share alot of quality hometime together, as well as regular trips out. All she has to do is think of something and it is provided-Flowers & cards are always popping up in her lap-This is how a relationship survives; By having trust in each other, talking things out and agreeing together on most decisions. When I hear so many women trash guys, I begin to wonder if their choice in them is the problem and if their actions might lead up to such an incident as the ones we hear so much about in the news. The problem is that many guys have too much pride to admit when they have been abused/cheated on by a women and consequently, it never makes the airwaves. I believe Fox News should air segments with men explaining their sides of negative relationships more often. Just my humble opinion & What do you think?

LOL!

In the midst of a slumping economy, the Mayor scandal, and so much division among Americans I have cause to celebrate. In a matter of days, April 4th to be exact, I will be celebrating 4 complete years of sobriety & staying clean; Along with that is the added miracle of that being the same day I met my now fiance Regina. My 40 years plus in the city was for the most part a street life, looking for that next drink & that next "high"; I remember quite well the years of struggle in the inner city, never knowing where I would lay my head or get my next meal from. The revolving door kept spinning & I found myself hitting a deeper rock-bottom each time. When I finally had enough, I left Wayne County and all those "wet faces & wet places" for Macomb County. Upon entering a shelter with just the clothes on my back, I began my slow climb back into society. It was there I met my current fiance Regina. I sincerely hope everyone has a spouse that is such a positive influence on their lives as mine has been these past 4 years. Having never had issues of drinking or drug abuse, I learned how to live without them in my life through her. Four years later, we live in a very nice place by the lake, we both drive nice vehicles, and we were even able to move her 89 year old father in with us. He is a WWII vet and couldn't properly take care of himself alone. I wanted to share this with my fellow bloggers as a good story for a change-Proof that miracles can happen in anyone's life if they work hard at it and do it the right way. As I started this post,  with so much tragedy & suffering around us these days we have a silver lining that pays us double on April 4th-My sobriety and our 4th year Anniversary-God Bless all of you & thank many of you for also helping me on my road to recovery. By keeping me on this PC in this site, I am doing the one thing I should be-"Not Drinking"!. LOl.

Well, Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his former aide Christine Beatty have been formerly charged, booked, fingerprinted and arraigned in our 36th District Court. Some interesting motions were made by the Prosecutor; Two were that the legal team of Morganroth & Webb were already involved in legal actions with the Mayor & it was made an issue that there may be a conflict of interest in this case. Also, the Dfense noted that at least two of the 36th District Judges may be called to the witness stand to testify concerning their decisions in the Whistleblower case, where 3 Detroit police officers were alledgedly fired for persuing the dissapearance & shooting of Tamara Greene & the Manoogian Mansion party where she was last seen alive. I also note that it could be a very strong possibility that Christine Beatty could be a very crucial part of Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy's Dream Team by flipping the script on her former boss and quite possibly reducing her charges & sentences should she also be found guilty. Mayor Kilpatrick is maintaining his innocence and claims he will be both "exonerated & vindicated" as this case draws more steam. He also claims he was not surprised that Kym Worthy made those 12 charges and says this case was sloppy from the beginning by her Prosecuting office and by the city. Note: Only ONE of those 12 felony charges needs to stick in order for Kwame Kilpatrick to legally be forced out of office and many commend Kym Worthy for her efforts to move Detroit & the people forward past this scandal quickly as possible. The exam part of this trial is set for June 9th. Opinions?

Just moments ago, the Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy has made her statement concerning th Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, Christine Beatty, and others in the recent scandal rocking SE Michigan. Kym Worhty has made 12 charges to Kilpatrick & Beatty in a 12 count indictment; These charges include Perjury, Misconduct, and public official details. Kym Worhty has firther ordered that Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick & Christine Beatty have until 7 am Tuesday morning to turn themselves in to the Wayne County Sheriff's office for their alledged crimes. This case will set a legal precedent for any government/political figures that choose to lie to their taxpayers & bend the law for their own selfish needs. I commend Kym Worthy & her legal team as they proceed in this matter so the city of Detroit can indeed move forward.

An American Dilemma : Was Slavery a racist institution ?

 http://www.dineshdsouza.com/books/endracism-toc.ht
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Slavery

Reparations?

Conclusion

 

 

Slavery

Although slavery ended in the United States more than a century ago, its legacy continues to be disputed among scholars and to underlie contemporary debates about public policies. The reason for this controversy is that slavery is considered the classic expression of American racism, and its effects are still viewed as central to the problems faced by blacks in the US today. The effect of slavery, African American scholar Michael Eric Dyson writes, "continues to exert its brutal influence in the untold sufferings of millions of everyday folk." He also expressed that residues of racism would continue to exist even at the close of the 20th century.

For Dyson, slavery is responsible for the high levels of black residential separation from whites today. Stephen Steinberg writes in the The Ethnic Myth that "ghettos are nothing less than the shameful residue of slavery.". Many other African American scholars also assert that slavery is responsible for many of the social pathologies in the black community such as chronic homelessness, single-parent households and youth violence. They also argue that slavery has undermined contemporary black identity, causing many African Americans to internalise racist stereotypes invented by slave-owners, that slavery has produced in African Americans "an airborne people" still consumed with self-contempt, self-hatred, self-affliction, and self-flagellation. Adopting a more extreme stand, they claim that "Slavery is a constant reminder of what whites in America might do."

Thousands of black activists are now resolutely pressing for Congress or the courts to direct whites to pay African Americans reparations to place them in the financial position they would occupy if slavery never occurred. Although many whites claim they are already repaying in the form of affirmative action, welfare and other transfer payments, black economist David Swinton insists more money is needed to "restore lost capital and repair the damage that was done to our wealth and business ownership by years of discrimination and slavery".

 

Slavery is also routinely blamed for having stolen from American blacks their culture, yet as a result of slavery, American blacks lost their ancestral tribal affiliations but gained a culture. The cumulative social effect of slavery was to uproot Africans from their original home, to foster the development of a unique new culture under the strains of oppression. Thus like other ethnic groups, blacks have recognised group traits. The camaraderie generated by this common culture is suggested by African Americans who call each other "brother" or "sister" even when they are not related. Like all cultures, Afro-American culture under slavery developed unique strengths and weaknesses, some of which may have endured long after slavery was abolished, perhaps even to the present day.

 

Reparations?

So if America as a nation owes blacks as a group reparations for slavery, what do blacks as a group owe America for the abolition of slavery? This question is not frivolous. After all, slavery was not distinctively a American practice but the campaign to end slavery was distinctively American. Still, slavery is undeniably a moral crime. People should not own other people. It is understandable that American blacks, on discovering the circumstances in which their ancestors were brought to this country, would feel at best a qualified patriotism. However upon reflection, this ambivalence may be unwarranted. Africans were not uniquely unfortunate to be taken as slaves; their descendants were uniquely fortunate to be born in the only civilisation in the world to abolish slavery on their own initiative, without slaves being in a position to revolt and gain their own independence. Booker T. Washington was born a slave but went on to become the most powerful black statesman and educator in the United States :

"Think about it : we went into slavery pagans; we came out Christians. We went into slavery pieces of property; we came out American citizens. We went into slavery with chains clanking about our waists; we came out with the American ballot in our hands…Not withstanding the cruelty and moral wrong of slavery, we are in a stronger and more hopeful condition, materially, intellectually, morally, and religiously, than is true of an equal number of black people in any other portion of the globe."

 

Conclusion

So what do Americans owe blacks because of slavery? The answer is probably nothing. If there is a social debt, it is to the slave, and the slaves are dead. It makes little sense to say that the United States has an obligation to pace African Americans in the economic and social position they occupy "if not for" slavery because "if not for" they would have been worse off in Africa. African Americans, indeed all Americans, should learn about the tragic crime of slavery. An understanding of the complexity of this history should prove the futility of drawing up ancestral balance sheets or selling indulgences that appeal to misplaced white guilt. A rich country like American should seek to help its most disadvantageous members, not because of what their ancestors endured, but because they deserve a chance to reach their full potential here and now. Although slavery remains an inextricable part of American history, excessive national self-flagellation carries moral dangers :

"In the memory of oppression, oppression perpetuates itself. The scar does the work of the wound. That is the real tragedy : that injustice retains the power to distort long after it ceased to be real. It is a posthumous victory for the oppressors, when pain becomes a tradition. This is the unfairly difficult dilemma of the newly emancipated and the newly franchised : an honourable life is not possible if they remember too little, and normal life is not possible if they remember too much."

 

Quoted from the book "The End Of Racism: Principles For A Multiracial Society" By Dinesh D'Souza--Opinions?