Kwame, Kwame, Kwame

Perjury (noun) the offense of deliberately telling an untruth in court when under oath.

Okay, we here in the Detroit Metro area are now given more evidence of more lies. The question becomes, can Detroit still be ran efficiently with this new distraction. Funny I just posted on this blog the distraction concerning Obama and now there is one concerning Kwame Kilpatrick. All I can say is, “Lord, give me a break please.” It is no surprise to me that most people are probably tired of the same old bull going back and forth in local and national politics.

The reason being, whether the President admits it or not, we are in a recession. We need to get to work fixing this country’s financial woes. The state of Michigan is in a worse state than the rest of the country. Michigan never really recovered after 9/11. I know, because I took a leap of faith and started a new career of writing in 2002 and the results have not been good. Don’t get me wrong. There have been ups but mostly downs for me. Bad timing on my part. The recession started in Michigan in 2002and continued on until the whole country is now affected. Blame it on the war, blame it on politics, blame it on whatever you want, it’s here now and needs fixing.

This makes it hard for the rest of the country to understand or have any desire to come to Michigan. Kilpatrick’s issues don’t help either. Detroit is the biggest city in Michigan. It is the home of the Big Three and the rest of the auto industry. When people think Michigan, they think Detroit, not Lansing, Grand Rapids, or Pontiac. This puts Kwame Kilpatrick in a precarious state as mayor. Should he stay or should he go is the question?

Here’s what I think and why. Yes, he should resign. But what you may have not thought of is this. If Kilpatrick resigns, he collects no unemployment here in Michigan. The state changed that law back in the 1980s. If he is let go by the city council, then unemployment can be disbursed to him. Now think about it. Kilpatrick has mounting legal fees, a family to take care of, and who knows how many other bills coming every month and no home of his own. With a foundation set up to help him with his legal cost, how would all the other expenses be covered if he gets no unemployment. So, I think he is hanging in until he is let go to be able to receive some money without a job. By the way, if you were an employer, would you hire him after this scandal that has surfaced? I don’t think so. That is why Kilpatrick won’t quit. It’s a money thing.

Give me a Break

Okay, the sh*** has hit the fan and Mayor Kilpatrick needs to let it go. Let go of what you ask? Let go of the bull he is trying to mislead the public with. No, the news media did not gather their information illegally. If they had, they would have been no different from the news media of yore. Remember back in the day we - the Black Americans - would say the news media never let us have a voice. Now that we are the voice of the people, the mayor wants us to believe we don’t know how to tell the truth.

As a former newspaper columnist, I know for a fact that I, nor any other news reporters could possibly write untruths and not get caught. I know that we would do prison time if we did. Let us not forget the Black women - whom I will not name here - in Washington that told the lies about the kid in the ghetto. She wrote a week long expose on the child, won awards and then was discovered to be lying about the whole thing. Believe me when I tell you; a good journalist is not stupid enough to do a repeat job, especially, when it comes to government leadership and tax dollars.

Here is what I believe is Mayor Kilpatrick’s problem. It’s called an ego. Although his has been bruised somewhat, he still has an obsessive preoccupation with himself in the sense of “I made an egregious error but so what,” I am still the best thing running Detroit. I really don’t think he realizes just how much damage he has done or how to deal with it. His ego won’t let him face the music with grace. Instead, he’d rather face it with the “in your face” attitude of the streets.

It is so amazing to me that the Detroit mayor has no clue as to how much harm he has committed or the price he will have to pay for it. If I remember it correctly, it goes, “too much, too little, too late” having been exposed to continue hiding what one has done. Whatever went on between the mayor and the fired police officers have to be reckoned with and continuing to pretend it won’t, is just plain stupid. Mind you, I have never thought of Mayor Kilpatrick as stupid but, the way he is dealing with all this is showing me he has bad days just like the rest of us. In other words - like us - sometimes we don’t think before we speak or act then get upset when we get caught.

My suggestion to the mayor, stop, take a deep breath, think on it, look in the mirror, then ask yourself, how would I feel if the shoe was on the other foot and I was the one who had been duped? Then he should think that old refrain, I will tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God. Amen.

Detroit Mayor’s Troubles

I’m sure we haven’t heard the last of the mess the city will have to deal with. I mean the city residents. That’s because the mess looks to involve tax dollars. What do I personally think? Well, here goes.

What many in politics seem to not understand is the old say, “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” City residents and business proprietors look to a mayor to lead by example. If a mayor wants respect and trust, a mayor must practice respect and trust toward its residents and business owners. So far it looks as if trust has been broken due to possible perjury. It also looks as if respect has gone out the window due to no response.

Now I think it is imperative Kilpatrick comes out of the dark and into the light with a strong message as to why. Without doing so, the scandal and alleged perjury issues will just get blown out of proportion. Yes, text messages say there was an affair. The questions are who paid for it and was it related to the dismissal of Gary Brown, Harold Nelthrope, and Walt Harris from their jobs. Was there a connection with a party at the Manoogian house? I sure do hope not.

I totally agree with a person’s antics having nothing to do with taking care of business. But this extra marital affair - however long ago it was - seems to be directly connected to the firings. That is what I think pisses people off. Most people in this country know power that politicians obtain occasionally lead some into relationships that are not acceptable. So what’s new? That part of this is no real surprise. It’s the attempted cover up that destroys the trust and respect. Especially when it also causes the destruction of people’s lives just doing what they are paid to do.

What can anyone believe when dots, that were once scattered, are now coming together? What can anyone believe when tax money spent unofficially is supposedly unavailable for repairing a city? What can anyone believe if those in a court room say no when the true answer is yes?

We all know that eventually this will become history like all other scandals do. Yet, until then, we the citizens are asked to do the math. I don’t know about you but, the numbers are not adding up for me.