Kilpatrick resigns

The question is why it took so long...

"Kwame M. Kilpatrick, the charismatic mayor of Detroit who has been embroiled in legal problems stemming from a sex scandal since the beginning of the year, pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and resigned his office Thursday morning as part of a deal with prosecutors," reports Susan Saulny of The New York Times.

"He agreed to plead guilty to two felony counts of obstruction of justice and to plead no contest to a felony count of assault on a police officer; to pay restitution to the city of $1 million; to surrender his law license, forfeit his state pension to the city and be barred from elective office for five years; and to serve 120 days in the Wayne County jail, followed by five years’ probation. The other charges were dismissed. The judge in the obstruction case scheduled a formal sentencing hearing for Oct. 28."

Field of weeds

Photo courtesy of Fabrizio Costantini for The New York Times

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick may have perjured himself to hide an affair, but his biggest crime just might be what's happened to Tiger Stadium on his watch. Joe Lapointe of The New York Times reports:

"The stadium sits empty. Late last year, the city auctioned mementos like grandstand seats, a dugout urinal, Al Kaline’s locker and the fence in front of the right-center-field light tower, hit by a Reggie Jackson home run in the 1971 All-Star Game. Last month, the city tentatively awarded a partial demolition contract for the stadium, which opened in 1912 as Navin Field.

"An opposition group, the Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy, has until June 1 to raise $369,000 to try to save part of Tiger Stadium, even temporarily. The group includes Ernie Harwell, the retired Tigers radio broadcaster.

"If that goal is reached, Senator Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat, said he would seek greater financing in the 2009 federal budget to preserve the oldest part of the structure around the infield and redevelop the playing field for amateur teams.

"'The field is sort of sacred ground,' Levin said in a telephone interview."

"Journalism" Smack Down

Dear Readers:

This will require all your critical powers. It will not be an easy task. It is time for you to decide who is the more legitimate "journalist": Huel Perkins of Fox News Detroit...Or Ron Burgundy? Mentally prepare yourself for an arduous task:





Special thanks to Jim Holbel for this gem.

Texting and Privacy

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is probably wondering just how the Free Press got a hold of his text messages, and the rest of the country is suddenly worried about their own privacy.

The telecom companies promise that they don't store text messages. Well, that's not very reassuring, given their track record.

"Phone companies are supposed to deliver our messages, not spy on them," says Josh Silver, executive director of Free Press, a civil liberties organization not to be confused with the Detroit newspaper that broke the Kilpatrick story. "But at every turn, these telco giants trample on basic constitutional principles of privacy and free speech. When you break the law you should face the consequences."

And just how damning are the text messages that the mayor exchanged with his chief of staff Christine Beatty? Remember, they testified under oath that they were not having an affair.

"I'm madly in love with you," Kilpatrick wrote on Oct. 3, 2002, according to the messages obtained by the Free Press.

"I hope you feel that way for a long time," Beatty replied to the mayor. "In case you haven't noticed, I am madly in love with you, too!"

On Oct. 16, 2002, Kilpatrick wrote Beatty: "I've been dreaming all day about having you all to myself for 3 days. Relaxing, laughing, talking, sleeping and making love."

Detroit and The Wire

Fans of The Wire, the critically acclaimed HBO crime series set in Baltimore, are probably thinking the situation in Detroit with embattled Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick sounds eerily familiar, especially if they happened to catch the trials and tribulations of Herc (above) in Episode 39: Soft Eyes.

Confused about the morning schedule for the Mayor, officer Thomas "Herc" Hauk waits by the truck, loses patience and goes looking for Lieutenant Hoskins, who heads the security detail. Opening doors in his search for his supervisor, Herc is surprised to encounter Mayor Clarence Royce on the receiving end of a robust act of fellatio, courtesy of his secretary. Stunned like a cow with a sledgehammer, Herc stares at the sight for a moment before slamming shut the door. In that moment, the Mayor sees him...Driving Royce, Herc catches the Mayor's eye in the rear view, certain now he's doomed for what he witnessed...Herc seeks out Carver to get advice on how to handle his embarrassing situation with the Mayor, convinced he'll never make rank now. "This is way beyond my pay grade," says Carver, thinking about who to consult...Herc gets advice from the politically connected and astute Major Stanislaus Valchek, who has a different take on Herc's predicament. The Major would like to be in Herc's shoes: "Kid, careers have been launched on a helluva lot less. Just shut up and play dumb."

For more evidence of life imitating art — or perhaps it's the other way around — read the deposition of Officer Walter Harris, a former member of the mayor's security division, as he describes his very Herc-like experiences with Kilpatrick. It's available at Detroit Uncovered about halfway down the page in the right-hand column.

Motor City

Despite all of Flint's problems, Detroit always seems available to overshadow it in the bad-news department. The Free Press reports:

The heads of 17 Detroit municipal unions may ask Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to resign or face a recall effort, one of them said Thursday, following a Free Press report that Kilpatrick and his chief of staff lied under oath at a police whistle-blower trial last summer.