Derrick Miller pleads guilty in "Kilpatrick Enterprise" case

[Scottathew]

English, thanks for your well thought out post. I can feel with you on the "nerdy" thing, I'm a computer geek myself for a living.

I would have preferred Crockrel myself, and I don't understand how Bing could get elected considering the fact he had to move to Detroit in order to run. However, I absolutely don't Bing's character or motivations; I feel they are pure. I might not always agree with how he goes about things though, but his heart is in it, and his motivation is to improve Detroit. He doesn't need the money or the power.

We have our voting oddities in the 'Burbs too. For example, Jim Fouts is the mayor of Warren, and judging by his 75% vote grab in the primary he'll be our mayor for another four years. Fouts has bloated out city hall with his cronies, depleted the cities fund balance, all while declaring that all is good in Warren. Folks just don't see through his act and I don't know how they can't. He panders to union works with his "Buy American" empty gestures, he panders to the religious with his prayer station in city hall, he pander to old people via his fight against the non-existent "ageism". And on top of it all it looks like he was re-animated a decade ago and is in need of it again.

As for the inner-ring diversifying, it most certainly is true. I bought my home in 2006. I live south of 10 Mile, and between Ryan and Mound. The neighborhood was all white when I moved in.

In 5 short years my neighborhood now has a lot of middle-eastern folks and a lot of blacks. My neighborhood now has a lot of taxis going about it [[because the middle-eastern women don't drive). My neighbors speak broken English. Some of my middle-eastern neighbors [[mostly the really old ones) don't even smile or wave back when you say hello to them! The women won't look men in the eyes, but I understand they mean no disrespect to me. My neighborhood now has a grocery store for middle-eastern folks as well as a Mosque on Ryan Road.

I'm not saying these are bad things [[minus the rude folks), but the change is most apparent. It also has the very positive side effect that foreclosed houses don't linger, they quickly get bought up by middle eastern families moving out of what I'm told is Hamtramck because they want a better, safer life.

Right now, our main financial goal is to get out of our home. We bought it for 155k back in 2006. I estimate it is optimistically worth 60k-70k right now. We still owe about 105k on it. Right now we have literally more than TRIPLED our mortgage payments, we are throwing an additional 2K a month in principle into our house. This will make it so we will break even in 2013.

As for the motivation to move, it's educational. We live in the Center Line Public School district and their test scores are much lower compared to districts where I grew up like Clawson, Royal Oak, and Troy. Our daughter is almost 2 years old and we want the best for her.

A secondary motivation for us moving is safety. Warren is worlds safer than Detroit and has a great police and fire response. However, we just don't feel safe in our neighborhood. I don't know why that is. Is it because somewhere in my subconsciousness my mind is equating diversity with danger? I hope not.

A third motivation is to live in a subdivision with less main-road intersection. In the south side of Warren most of the roads run dead north-south or dead east-west, and they almost all intersect with main roads. In the newer suburbs, subdivisions have entrances and only a few streets that go out to the main road.


Back to broader topic, I feel that this region won't be whole again until the imaginary racial and socioeconomic boundaries are gone. Eight Mile Road is the divide between the haves, and the have-nots. Those that have, wouldn't choose to live there, because it's a bad place to live, and if you had the money, wouldn't you not choose to be somewhere safe, with police, fire, and medical response?

It's already starting to happen, the lines are blurring. The haves have less, and the haves not have more. I wish it would happen faster, but lingering attitudes and slow economic growth will slow down our progress.

Detroit needs to tackle issues in this order:

1) Fix the police response issue
2) Fix the schools
3) Bulldoze houses that need it
4) Continue to grow downtown and mid-town

If they can fix those things they might be able to stop the black-flight that happens when black families break the poverty cycle and flee to the 'burbs.

[English]

Back to broader topic, I feel that this region won't be whole again until the imaginary racial and socioeconomic boundaries are gone. Eight Mile Road is the divide between the haves, and the have-nots. Those that have, wouldn't choose to live there, because it's a bad place to live, and if you had the money, wouldn't you not choose to be somewhere safe, with police, fire, and medical response?

It's already starting to happen, the lines are blurring. The haves have less, and the haves not have more. I wish it would happen faster, but lingering attitudes and slow economic growth will slow down our progress.

Detroit needs to tackle issues in this order:

1) Fix the police response issue
2) Fix the schools
3) Bulldoze houses that need it
4) Continue to grow downtown and mid-town

If they can fix those things they might be able to stop the black-flight that happens when black families break the poverty cycle and flee to the 'burbs.

I think that these things are happening, albeit slowly.

This is off topic, but I feel as if your heartfelt post deserves a response in kind. As a parent, you have to do what's best for your children. I've had good friends of all races who have apologized to me for choosing a certain school or district for their kids. As a non-parent, that just bewilders me, because if I had kids of my own, I'd be a total mama bear, and any and all comers could kiss my rear end if they had an opinion about what I did on their behalf.

In that regard, I am a total hypocrite, and I know full well that I am. I live in Detroit, sure, but I'm not married and don't have any kids. If I had kids? The only way they would do DPS is if I navigated it personally, and then, they'd only go to the schools that I went to [[Bates and Renaissance). Otherwise, I'd pay for private school OR I'd be in an upper middle class suburban district. I'm a former teacher, and I research education. I know the stats. Absolutely my kids couldn't go to a neighborhood school OR even most Detroit and inner-ring charters. I've been fighting to keep my niece and nephew out of them, but this year has been difficult on my sisters' families. They are struggling and we have stupid home rule that prevents kids from remaining in their schools if they leave tiny district boundaries -- even if they're in the same county. [[Thank you, 1970s era parents.)

Yes, I believe we should strengthen neighborhood urban public schools, but not on the backs of my children. I know better, and so I can do better. My parents didn't leave me to attend Courtis, Noble, and Mackenzie in the 80s and 90s out of some wonderful principle -- when I told my mother in seventh grade that I hated the bourgeoisie kids at Bates, and I wanted to go to school in the 'hood, she just ignored me. Even my grandparents refused to send their younger children to Noble in the 70s and put them in Ann Arbor Trail.

You can fight and fight hard for a more just society, and you can fight for other kids to have better living conditions and life circumstances, but it's against evolutionary biology to hobble your own. You do what you have to do, and for heaven's sake, don't feel guilty about it. I can't even imagine how effing hard it is to raise kids today, which is why I'm deeply ambivalent about ever becoming a biological parent.

[bartock]

English, your last two posts - bravo.

Especially this "Yes, I believe we should strengthen neighborhood urban public schools, but not on the backs of my children. I know better, and so I can do better." People that expect parents who can get their kids elsewhere to "dig in" on this don't get it.

[corktownyuppie]

English, I know we don't always see eye to eye, and that's ok. I sometimes imagine how different our community would be if there were more of you. I really appreciate your passion for the city, your depth of understanding, and your ability to articulate your perspective. Thanks for continuing to fight for a better Detroit.

[dtrrman]

Seems the Kwamester thinks he'll be cleared.

http://www.freep.com/article/2011091...leared-charges

LOL, he's dellusional to the end. He's going for the big ride, minimum 20-30,
and daddy's going to roll out of Federal prison in a wheelchair if he rolls out at all.
Would some of his sicophants vote for him again? They would raise him in a sedan chair and carry his fat @ss right into city hall.

[English]

Thanks, bartock and corktownyuppie. Apparently 600 Detroiters showed up to hear KMK interviewed today:

http://www.freep.com/article/2011091...text|FRONTPAGE

Crowd turns out in Detroit to hear Kilpatrick at book signing

[Zacha341]

"sicophants" LOL! I did not vote for him the second time 'round and would never vote for him again. Feds will have the last say....

LOL, he's dellusional to the end. He's going for the big ride, minimum 20-30,
and daddy's going to roll out of Federal prison in a wheelchair if he rolls out at all.
Would some of his sicophants vote for him again? They would raise him in a sedan chair and carry his fat @ss right into city hall.

[stromberg2]

600 people screaming and cheering like Jesus himself showed up. Idiots, I think Kwame's sister is right.

Stromberg2

[Hypestyles]

...I hope that Mr. Miller lives to give his testimony when the time comes.. I wonder if he will now get portrayed as an "FBI informant" by the Kilpatrick camp.. I wonder how the remaining defendants feel, privately, about him?
...Is this pastor that the event was held at related to Charles Ellis of Greater Grace? I am disappointed at the number of clergy who are willing, even now, to give him an active forum..
..I wonder if everyone who attended the event really felt that Kilpatrick got bounced just because he got busted in an affair?
... I hope everyone who bought a book is willing to vote in the next elections..

[Bigb23]

...Is this pastor that the event was held at related to Charles Ellis of Greater Grace? I am disappointed at the number of clergy who are willing, even now, to give him an active forum..
..I wonder if everyone who attended the event really felt that Kilpatrick got bounced just because he got busted in an affair?

There is an upcoming trial that will go before selected jurors, that will decide that. Let's leave it to that. It's the best we have. The man had and still has charisma.

[Bigb23]

And when I say charisma, to mean allow to everbody's want . Including the Kilpatrick's. Which has been too much of the Detroit budget. Am I the suburban nut job that people don't allow?

Yes - and for a reason - ?????