Kwame just resign please

[gonzomax]

Detroits' mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was in front of the judge yesterday. He is charged with counts of perjury, obstruction etc.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8VJSSFO6&show_article=1 Heres a story on it.
I do not believe that he can govern any more. The case rests on text messages that surfaced and showed that he and his Chief of staff Beatty lied in court about having an affair. Misuse of public funds and obstruction is also charged.
Kwame's atty Webb says he will fight the texts that have surfaced via the Freedom of Information Act through the papers. The text of the messages has been printed in the papers and the internets. Even if the case goes down with the possible suppression of the messages ,they have already been in the public domain. So how can he govern? The people of Detroit know what happened.

[Ponder Stibbons]

He still insists he didn't lie about anything. I guess he's going to insist that he and his secretary liked to exchange steamy e-mails as a sort of joke and that IRL they would never DREAM of actually physically getting together.

Well, it'll all play out soon enough.

[Happy Lendervedder]

He's a real embarrassment to the region, not just the city. I, too, wish he'd step down.

I think he's the first mayor ever to use the word "nigger" in his State of the City address.

He's a douche, an ass, a liar, a weasel, and a lousy human being if he continues to fight this and claim he's the victim.

[wring]

and to those who aren't regional and don't know all the details, the issue isn't really "did they have an affair". The issue began when the Detroit police attempted to investigate allegations of wild parties at the mayor's mansion among a long laundry list of stuff. Kwame then got involved and cops got fired. They sued in a wrongful termination /whistle blower case, which the city just settled, costing the tax payers huge bucks. The testimony involved was in that suit. Their (his and his chief of staff/lover) alledged lies are part of the coverup (it's always the coverup that gets you) to the wrongful termination.

So, essentially, the police were attempting to investigate allegations of corruption, they got fired, and in court, Kwame et al lied about their activities. He's saying he'll be 'vindicated', but IIRC, his lawyer was hanging the hat on 'wrongfully obtained evidence'. Some of the pundits I've read have predicted that many lawyers will lose their licenses over this one.

[Two and a Half Inches of Fun]

The issue began when the Detroit police attempted to investigate allegations of wild parties at the mayor's mansion

I am not from the region.

Why would the police investigate allegations of wild parties? Are wild parties illegal in Detroit? Were there allegations of drugs or illegal activities at these parties?

[wring]

I am not from the region.

Why would the police investigate allegations of wild parties? Are wild parties illegal in Detroit? Were there allegations of drugs or illegal activities at these parties?
there were allegations of misuse of public funds. and a dead stripper.

[Cervaise]

Why is there always a dead stripper?

[Mr. Moto]

Why would the police investigate allegations of wild parties? Are wild parties illegal in Detroit? Were there allegations of drugs or illegal activities at these parties?

First of all, the mayor's mansion is city property, and as such ought to be treated as a public space. A party with strippers on the grounds, with members of the mayor's protection detail participating while on the clock, wouldn't do.

There was then considerable evidence that the mayor conspired to have the investigation of this event quashed.

Throw in the murder of one of the strippers at the party, and it turns into a huge mess.

[wring]

Why is there always a dead stripper?
I'll bet Spitzer is wondering the same thing.

[ralph124c]

Rev's. Sharpton and Jackson in this? Seems like they ough to have something to say!

[gonzomax]

It is black prosecutors 'Kym Worthy and staff against the black mayor. Color does not enter. The only white man is Kwame's high priced lawyer Dan Webb. Sharpton and Jackson are unlikely to weigh in.

[Great Dave]

Isn't there also something in the texts about the chief of staff tipping off a friend about city contracts?

[gonzomax]

He still insists he didn't lie about anything. I guess he's going to insist that he and his secretary liked to exchange steamy e-mails as a sort of joke and that IRL they would never DREAM of actually physically getting together.

Well, it'll all play out soon enough.
He lied in court about the affair. Both he and Beatty denied the affair on the stand until the lawyer for the police showed up at court with transcripts of the text messages. Then they settled the case for 8.4 mill.

[Weirddave]

I do not believe that he can govern any more.
Any more? The guys been a disaster and a crook since he was elected. He's never been able to govern.

[gonzomax]

Oddly the population of Detroit think he has been doing a good job. I do not know what they are keying in on.

[Nawth Chucka]

Throw in the murder of one of the strippers at the party, and it turns into a huge mess.

To be most accurate, the dancer (Tamara Greene) was killed in a suspicious drive-by shooting months after the party. She was in a vehicle with her boyfriend who was not killed, even after the shooter's vehicle doubled back to the vehicle of the dancer. By then she'd been shot dead and the shooters didn't shoot again. There are reports that Mrs. Mayor came home early to the party and slapped said dancer around when seen dancing 'up on' Mr. Mayor.
I concur, as a former Detroiter, that he should pack his bags and move up to Ionia for the next 15 years or so and grant Carlita a quiet divorce. The sham is over, Kwame.
You just know Freman Hendrix is gobsmacked that he lost to such a snake.

[Weirddave]

Oddly the population of Detroit think he has been doing a good job. I do not know what they are keying in on.
My guess would be the racist crap that he spouts and the racist policies he follows. It seems to have struck a chord with the voters in Detroit.

[Guinastasia]

I think he's the first mayor ever to use the word "nigger" in his State of the City address.

He did WHAT? In what context?

[Wee Bairn]

Hopefully not referring to himself as now the HNIC I hope?

[Fiveroptic]

The continued support from Detroiters, that's what really gets to me about this. WWJ asked people if they still supported Mayor Kilpatrick and three out of four that were aired defended him. I don't get it, I really don't. Are people so bamboozled by his youth and charisma that they're blind to his corruption or is it that they just don't care because he's youthful and charismatic? I'd like to think that the average Detroiter is smarter than this but the very fact that Kilpatrick was voted into a second term over Freeman Hendrix makes it obvious they aren't.

Last night a friend and I were discussing Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy's role in this. Ms. Worthy is a black woman who is probably best recognized by most Detroiters as having been the lead prosecutor in the Malice Green murder trial in 1993. This was an extremely racially charged trial which led to the questionable conviction of two white Detroit police officers. The trial was aired live and obviously was the headline of every local news outlet for months, making Ms. Worthy a household name. The decision to charge Kilpatrick and Beatty was ultimately hers to make -- or at least it is perceived that way -- and I'm glad that it was Kym Worthy, a black prosecutor, who made that decision because I have this nagging feeling that sooner or later Mayor Kilpatrick is going to blame racism for his current troubles, just like he blamed racism for the whistleblower verdict:



In August, 2007, Mr. Kilpatrick was sued by two ex-members of his bodyguard staff for violation of the Whistleblower Law. It was claimed that he fired them in retaliation for them investigating his personal actions. The trial ended on September 11, 2007, after 3 hours of jury deliberation in a verdict awarding the plaintiffs $6.5 million in damages.

Minutes after the verdict for the trial came in, in an angry speech in front of City Hall, Kilpatrick blamed the "wrong verdict" on white suburbanite jurors. In a separate article, Kilpatrick is quoted as saying, "There's race in this, and we run from it in this region. And I think it's impossible for us to move forward as a region without confronting it head-on. But I don't want what has happened in the past 24 months to be erased by what has happened in the last two days."

Race has absolutely nothing to do with Kilpatrick's current legal problems but I'm still waiting for the blame to be placed.

[Amazingrace]

He did WHAT? In what context?


Here's a news article that contextualizes it. (http://www.wxyz.com/news/story.aspx?content_id=553cf1d1-1f53-4daf-8e8f-0fa68dbae493)

He was given a second chance that he didn't deserve, and he blew it. As a soon to be young professional in the state of Michigan, I am staying the hell away from the east side of the state and plan on having my career in Grand Rapids. I want to be able to live and work in a city, and Detroit won't let me do that.

[Happy Lendervedder]

He did WHAT? In what context?

His SoC address was a few weeks after the whole text message scandal broke. He spent the first hour or so doing what a mayor should do in a SoC: talk about the city, the accomplishments, the plans, etc.

But then, after all that, he "went off script," and started talking about how he's been called a nigger more in the past 30 days than he has in his entire life, and how there's this "lynch mob" mentality against him and his family from the media and white suburbs, yadda yadda blah.

Here's a clip: http://youtube.com/watch?v=om5DeKqOxSE&feature=related

The reaction you hear from his speech is coming from the invite-only crowd of 1,500 of his closest supporters.

Democracy, my ass.

[Fiveroptic]

Ah, so he's already blamed race for his current bullshit. Well then. I can exhale.

[wolfman]

Because Detroit is a depressed, miserable, hopeless shithole. And Depressed, miserable, hopeless, shitholes become full of really pissed off people. Kwame has followed the lead of Coleman Young by race baiting the angry people to consolidate his power while screwing the city in everyway possible. Every time he gets caught he just claims Whitey is making up lies to bring the black man down again. He has very effectively made it "us" against "them(any black people against him are of course Uncle Tom's and therefore them)"

There just is no way to PC race out of the discussion, it's the core of the matter. People won't stop suuporting him, because they will never believe any of it because "they are always out to get us"

[BrainGlutton]

I do not believe that he can govern any more.

Of course he can't. Who could govern Detroit?! It only makes Baghdad look like Geneva! ;)

[Nawth Chucka]

Of course he can't. Who could govern Detroit?! It only makes Baghdad look like Geneva! ;)

Really, Baghdad and Geneva? Really? Because that's a remarkably ignorant comment, unless you drew this comparison from your time living in Detroit. Surely you wouldn't make such a comment w/o firsthand knowledge, right?

I agree wolfman, Detroiters are desperate for hope and improvement in their city government. But it's like someone drowning and being tossed a rope dipped in shit. They're still going to grab it, they don't want to drown. They'll worry about getting the shit off their hands later. I'd personally love to see the office of mayor eliminated and the city run by a council.

Those of you who live in areas where the jobs haven't been wiped out, the schools have thrived and corruption is unique, please appreciate and enjoy what you have. Where the jobs go, the people go and with them go the tax base and there's no changing that.

[Great Dave]

Here's a news article that contextualizes it. (http://www.wxyz.com/news/story.aspx?content_id=553cf1d1-1f53-4daf-8e8f-0fa68dbae493)

He was given a second chance that he didn't deserve, and he blew it. As a soon to be young professional in the state of Michigan, I am staying the hell away from the east side of the state and plan on having my career in Grand Rapids. I want to be able to live and work in a city, and Detroit won't let me do that.

Well, c'mon over. GR is in the middle of an amazing transformation, and now is a great time to get in on it. Are you originally from the Eastside? It seems to me that there is a huge blind spot most east siders have where GR should be. Or maybe it's just the assholes in my wife's family.

And there's no chance in hell that something like this happening over here. First of all, I'm having a hard time getting the image of George Heartwell having an affair. The contrast between the two mayors is quite stark. The political and social pressures that would arise would be tremendous.

And while there shouldn't be any racial tension in the whole affair, as much as Kwame likes to claim, hoping that it;s some sort of get of jail free card if he can somewhow spin it that way, But, as Jack Lessenberry said the other day, Everything in Detroit is about race. Surely, it must be the most racist area in the north, and probably in the country. The tension between the races has been used to political end for too long, and stupid cracks like the one above by BrainGlutton aren't helping.

[gonzomax]

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0884135.html soon we will elect another mayor. I hope he is more like Dennis Archer. A little dignity goes a long way.

[Airman Doors, USAF]

Really, Baghdad and Geneva? Really? Because that's a remarkably ignorant comment, unless you drew this comparison from your time living in Detroit. Surely you wouldn't make such a comment w/o firsthand knowledge, right?

I was thinking Beirut, myself. But God knows I can't make any comment, even based upon prima facie evidence, without having first-hand knowledge. Things like this (http://www.cityrating.com/citycrime.asp?city=Detroit&state=MI) obviously do not count, because I haven't seen them firsthand. Therefore, they do not exist. And Oceania has always been at war with Eastasia, and these are not the droids you're looking for.

[Great Dave]

I don't think that Nawth Chucka was denying that Detroit is a violent place, just that the analogy of Detroit making Baghdad look like Geneva is somewhat misleading. From what I've heard about all three places, I am inclined more towards Nawth Chucka and less towards BG.

[Nawth Chucka]

I was thinking Beirut, myself. But God knows I can't make any comment, even based upon prima facie evidence, without having first-hand knowledge. Things like this (http://www.cityrating.com/citycrime.asp?city=Detroit&state=MI) obviously do not count, because I haven't seen them firsthand. Therefore, they do not exist. And Oceania has always been at war with Eastasia, and these are not the droids you're looking for.

I wasn't asking for your opinion, Airman. I was looking for more information on BrainGlutton's generalization and what it's based on. The one statistic you found doesn't explain the behavior of a city or a group of people or a religion. Or are you saying that statistic shows Detroiters are criminals?

BrainGlutton, what does your Detroit experience consist of?

[Boyo Jim]

Sooner or later we will hear the phrase, "That bitch, she set me up." [/Marion Barry]

[Airman Doors, USAF]

See, that's the thing. The reference was obvious. Geneva, the city of peace. Baghdad, compared favorably to it. It's a sort of connect the dots thing. Of course it was hyperbolic, as was my comment. But he was absolutely making a comment on Detroit's reputation for crime and violence, which is borne out in the crime statistics.

Perhaps I am missing the point. It wouldn't be the first time. But I really, really doubt it.

[spifflog]

Why is there always a dead stripper?

Actually, its the cover-up and the dead stripper that gets 'ya. Every time.

[zut]

Of course he can't. Who could govern Detroit?! It only makes Baghdad look like Geneva! ;) Some of us are awfully tired of the "Detroit? It's a shithole! Ha ha!" comments. It ceases being amusing about the tenth time you hear it, winkie smile or no. Yeah, yeah, Detroit has problems, not the least of which is the current mayor. Thanks for being a dick about it, though.

See, that's the thing. The reference was obvious. Geneva, the city of peace. Baghdad, compared favorably to it. It's a sort of connect the dots thing. Of course it was hyperbolic, as was my comment. But he was absolutely making a comment on Detroit's reputation for crime and violence, which is borne out in the crime statistics. You were also being a fucking asshole about it. But, hey, my comment is hyperbolic, so no harm, no foul.

[Velma]

Here's a news article that contextualizes it. (http://www.wxyz.com/news/story.aspx?content_id=553cf1d1-1f53-4daf-8e8f-0fa68dbae493)

He was given a second chance that he didn't deserve, and he blew it. As a soon to be young professional in the state of Michigan, I am staying the hell away from the east side of the state and plan on having my career in Grand Rapids. I want to be able to live and work in a city, and Detroit won't let me do that.

We welcome all those who flee the east :) Come, share in our bounty and experience having the water on the other side of you.

[Great Dave]

We welcome all those who flee the east :) Come, share in our bounty and experience having the water on the other side of you.

Yeah, you get sunsets over the lake, with beautiful sand beaches.

[wring]

We welcome all those who flee the east :) Come, share in our bounty and experience having the water on the other side of you. Wanna talk about "lake effect snow"? Thought not. ;)

[Velma]

Wanna talk about "lake effect snow"? Thought not. ;)
wait...you all know about that? Who blabbed?

[wring]

I live in Lansing. We get your leftovers.

[Ensign Edison]

It's so funny how some people demand microscopically detailed and exhaustive justification for most accusations of racism, but love to grab that banner and run with it whenever they feel white people have been victims of it. Then they accuse everyone else of doing the same thing in reverse, all the time. It's kind of hypnotic.

[gonzomax]

Kwame's legal friends are saying on TV the mayor is entitled to a presumption of innocence. I understand the concept but in this case the tapes of his affair with his chief of staff are out in the public. Also the testimony ,where both he and Beatty denied on the stand that they were having an affair,were on TV. It is stretching credibility for me to have a starting point that he is innocent. I can't get there.

[wring]

Kwame's legal friends are saying on TV the mayor is entitled to a presumption of innocence. I understand the concept but in this case the tapes of his affair with his chief of staff are out in the public. Also the testimony ,where both he and Beatty denied on the stand that they were having an affair,were on TV. It is stretching credibility for me to have a starting point that he is innocent. I can't get there.
I believe they're taking that position so that:
1. Kwame, w/a presumption of innocence isn't necessarily immediately out of a job.

2. They can go to court and argue that the records of the text messages were illegally obtained and therefore cannot be used against him.

3. w/o the text messages, it's difficult to prove that there was a sexual relationship (of course if his protection detail can affirm that the two spent the night together alone in a hotel room, that'd go a long way towards proving it, I believe).

4. There's also the concept that text messages alone do not demonstrate an actual real life physical relationship - there's any number of folks who've had "phone sex" yet have never even been in the same room, let alone bed. I think this one is a bigger stretch than the rest of it, though. I suspect the average person would disclaim having 'text sex' alone w/a person they see in person daily, while never having any other physical relationship.

[gonzomax]

You have not heard the tapes. They can not be confused with playing sex. The relationship has been proven in many ways.
If the tapes get dismissed,that will not prove their innocence. Only that through a technicality that the proof is not allowed in the trial. It is a possibility that they will get excluded. But the evidence has already been in the public domain. We know what they did. . The text messages also cover hid firing of the police officers that were investigating his connection to the party and the dead stripper. He said in court that they were not fired. In a conversation he and Beatty were discussing how to cover their tracks in the dismissals. They wanted someone to find a way to put a different spin on it.
The problem is not about the sex. It is about the lying in court.

[wring]

You have not heard the tapes. They can not be confused with playing sex. The relationship has been proven in many ways.
If the tapes get dismissed,that will not prove their innocence. Only that through a technicality that the proof is not allowed in the trial. It is a possibility that they will get excluded. But the evidence has already been in the public domain. We know what they did. . The text messages also cover hid firing of the police officers that were investigating his connection to the party and the dead stripper. He said in court that they were not fired. In a conversation he and Beatty were discussing how to cover their tracks in the dismissals. They wanted someone to find a way to put a different spin on it.
The problem is not about the sex. It is about the lying in court. But if the text messages get excluded, doesn't matter what 'everyone knows' . Remember, they don't have to (legally) prove their innocence, prosecution must prove their guilty based on the evidence presented in court.

I understand that they're scum. Not disputing that.

[gonzomax]

If the court tosses the texts ,he walks. But his constituency knows what was on the tapes. How can he govern. Getting away with it may keep him in office,but that is not innocence. I pity the councilpeople who have come out against him if he gets away with it. He comes down hard on who he perceives to be an enemy. Then a recall would be in order.

[Queen Tonya]

How in the world can potentially losing the text messages count for anything when the Mayor did the 'suitably chastised apology with wifey holding the hand' press conference where he admitted to the affair?

I only wish Ms.Worthy could go further, get him on buying that Lincoln Navigator for his wife on the city's money, and remember Christine's "Do you know who the fuck I am!?" reaction to being pulled over for speeding?

Best case scenario here is Christine turns on him, she's the treasurer of his non-profit that's being investigated too, she's got so much dirt on him it's not even funny and if Kym offers enough, Christine'd be stupid not to take it. Remember, King Kwame is still in a job, with a 70% approval rating, still married, still has the house in Florida, etc. Christine's marraige broke up a few years ago, she resigned (a futile attempt to remove fuel from the fire, methinks) she's got kids to feed and the last thing she needs is a prison sentence.

[gonzomax]

I expect Beatty to turn on him but I can not see her getting off free.

[Great Dave]

I live in Lansing. We get your leftovers.

GR is usually just on the edge of the lake effect, so it might be a bit snowier than Lansing, but not like the Lakeshore.

[Great Dave]

It's so funny how some people demand microscopically detailed and exhaustive justification for most accusations of racism, but love to grab that banner and run with it whenever they feel white people have been victims of it. Then they accuse everyone else of doing the same thing in reverse, all the time. It's kind of hypnotic.

:confused: Just about everyone involved is black. Kwame, his wife, his mistress, the cop they fired, the prosecutor, 6 of the 7 (I think) council members who called for his resignation, and members of the press who've done likewise. Of course, there are white people who are shocked that their mayor would perjur himself and use public funds as hush money, and feed inside information regarding city contracts to an old friend who also happens to be a felon. That last part is bolded because I don't hear or read a lot about it, and thought it needed extra attention.

[Happy Lendervedder]

What Christine needs to do is say that she felt Kwame's advances were something she couldn't avoid, as he was her boss, so she felt obligated to have the affair against her better judgement.

Then rat the bastard out.

Wait-- first she needs to cut a deal with the prosecutor's office.

Then rat the bastard out.

[Ensign Edison]

:confused: Just about everyone involved is black. Kwame, his wife, his mistress, the cop they fired, the prosecutor, 6 of the 7 (I think) council members who called for his resignation, and members of the press who've done likewise. Of course, there are white people who are shocked that their mayor would perjur himself and use public funds as hush money, and feed inside information regarding city contracts to an old friend who also happens to be a felon. That last part is bolded because I don't hear or read a lot about it, and thought it needed extra attention.

I wasn't referring to the scandal but to some other comments in this thread about how Kwame is himself racist.

[wolfman]

I don't know whether Kwame himself is racist, but he maintaines power by race baiting and creating racial dischord.

[Ensign Edison]

I don't know whether Kwame himself is racist, but he maintaines power by race baiting and creating racial dischord.

To clarify, I wasn't even commenting on whether he is a racist. I don't know enough about it. Just that certain people have a double standard when it comes to crying "racist!"

[buttonjockey308]

Why is there always a dead stripper?

What's a party without one?

[Triskadecamus]

Presumption of innocence is what you give someone in court, when they are accused of a crime. Presumptions are somewhat more stringent in the case of elected office holders, and even more stringent, or one might hope, in cases of prospective candidates for public office.

Tris

[Vinyl Turnip]

To clarify, I wasn't even commenting on whether he is a racist. I don't know enough about it. Just that certain people have a double standard when it comes to crying "racist!"
There is definitely a double standard, and it is precisely that which Kilpatrick is desperately, and rather clumsily, attempting to exploit: it's no longer seen as acceptable for white politicians/public figures to make overtly racially charged/race-baiting statements (or as in the recent case of Ferraro's comments, statements that can be torturously spun to be "racist"),---but for black politicians/public figures, it's much more common (almost obligatory) to chum the waters with references to "lynching," etc., as soon as they find themselves under fire for their own behavior.

The same by-the-numbers approach was undertaken by (former Atlanta Mayor) Bill Campbell recently: under investigation for his own multiple scandals, he began appearing on black talk radio programs, pleading his case in front of local black churches, insinuating racial persecution, and generally reaching out to "his people" in a way that he hadn't found nearly as necessary before he got himself into trouble.

It didn't save Bill, and judging from the outcry from both black and white residents of Detroit thusfar, I'd say it may not save Kwame either. But that won't stop him from using his blackness as a red herring, especially if there's nothing else to fall back on.

[gonzomax]

Presumption of innocence is what you give someone in court, when they are accused of a crime. Presumptions are somewhat more stringent in the case of elected office holders, and even more stringent, or one might hope, in cases of prospective candidates for public office.

Tris
The problem is that the presumption of innocence is negated because the tapes have been read,or excerpts have been on TV. The evidence is out. Even if the texting is excluded from the trial and he gets away,almost everybody knows what really happened. In this case the logical position is presumption of guilt.

[Shirley Ujest]

It is black prosecutors 'Kym Worthy and staff against the black mayor. Color does not enter. The only white man is Kwame's high priced lawyer Dan Webb. Sharpton and Jackson are unlikely to weigh in.



Somehow, they will manage to squeeze their huge ego's into all of this and get some face time in. Bet on it.




OT

Kwame and the Dead Strippers would be an great band name.

[gonzomax]

Except there was only one.

[Boyo Jim]

Except there was only one.

poetic license

[smiling bandit]

Seriously, hat's with the iudea that we must "presume innocence"? No, the courts presume innocence. That doesn't apply to me. Or you, for that matter. It doesn't even apply to the courtroom people outside the courtroom. And it really doesn't apply to the prosecution or the defense. Heck, it doesn't even apply to the judge that far.

Honestly, the entire concept is a polite fiction.