Mahaffey to retire after 31 years on Detroit City Council

Council President Maryann Mahaffey will retire after being diagnosed with a non-fatal leukemia. Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick calls her "the absolute toughest women I have ever met in my entire life." This is a great loss to the City of Detroit and I wish Councilwoman Mahaffey good health.

Detroit clerk Jackie Currie found in contempt of court, could face sanctions

A hearing will be held this morning to determine what sanctions Detroit City Clerk Jackie Currie will face in violating a court order against sending out unrequested absentee ballot applications. Meanwhile, in an obvious diversionary tactic, Currie and her posse are going back to federal court, suing the Judge who sanctioned our City Clerk as well as Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land. Go figure!

No count recount, Metro Times Covers Jackiegate

I missed this getting ready for the trip to DC last week. In 'No count recount ', Curt Guyette does a great job explaining the mess that our City Clerk has made of the electoral process in Detroit. Under the guise of aiding the voter, Jackie Currie has broken the law and violated court orders. Now we find out that the election results are unverifiable. I'm dumbfounded why John Conyer's isn't looking into this. Contact him at John.Conyers@mail.house.gov or (313) 961-5670

Sheehan Arrested During Anti-War Protest

The action in Washington DC continues today with acts of civil disobedience at the White House resulting in the arrest of Cindy Sheehan and others. Here's her side of the story.

She speaks for me.

Thousands worldwide protest Iraq war

With estimates running from 100,000 to 250,000 people in attendance, most agree this weekends rally and march in DC was a great success. Coverage includes this story from Reuters that appeared in the Sunday Free Press with a photo: Thousands worldwide protest Iraq war, as well as this AP story.

Yahoo has a photo slide show here, Indymedia has some photos here and you can find some Green Party photos here and here.

City Council weighs in on Jackiegate

Marisol Bello of the Free Press reports in this POLI-BYTES ( at bottom of page ) that the Detroit City Council voted 5-4 in favor of a resolution supporting the City Clerk. They seem to have fallen for the line that because all the other cities in Michigan violate the law so should Detroit. The law in question is the requirement that applications for absentee ballots be requested in person. A Federal judge disagreed with the council and threw City Clerk Currie's 'it smacks of Jim Crow" case out of court.

Jackiegate

While the mainstream media buries the story (it appeared in the Free Press opposite the obituary page), the office of City Clerk is up against the ropes. The Federal judge threw the City Clerk's counter-suit out of court, forcing Jackie Currie to face Maureen Taylor''s suit in state court. The judge also threatened sanctions and perjury charges according to Ms. Taylor. It appears that while we were looking for election fraud in Florida and Ohio, it was running rampant in our own back yard.

I guess you had to be there.

How Brian Dickerson of the free press can give Round 1 to Kilpatrick in the Mayoral debates is beyond me. After accusing suburban communities of doing more drugs "than all the schools in the city of Detroit put together", Mayor Kilpatrick stated that he had never been arrested and asked: "can Mr. Hendrix say the same thing?" Perhaps candidate Freeman Hendrix should have asked, "When did you stop cheating on your wife?"

Video of the debate can be found here.

Race still divisive in mayoral campaign

Is race an issue in the Detroit Mayoral campaign? This story seems to suggest that while the issue is being raised, particularly by the Black Slate in its support for Mayor Kilpatrick, it may not be a factor in the race. What do you think?

Camp Casey Detroit to Close Down

After 21 days at Grand Circus Park, Camp Casey Detroit will be closing. Here's the announcement: "**CAMP CASEY DETROIT WILL CLOSE DOWN ON SUNDAY AFTERNOON, SEPT. 11. BY THEN WE WILL HAVE COMPLETED DAY 21 OF MAINTAINING A 24/7 PEACE ENCAMPMENT! OUR GRATITUDE TO ALL WHO HELPED. THIS BLOG WILL CONTINUE TO OFFER AN ONLINE COMMUNITY FORUM FOR DETROIT AREA PEACE ACTIVISTS.**" My night at Camp Casey last Saturday was one of my most rewarding days as a Detroiter and an activist.

10 Great Ways You Can Help

Alternet has some great coverage of Katrina and its aftermath, including 10 Great Ways You Can Help. They say: "Let's not let our clumsy, uncaring government undermine our capacity to help those in need."

Covering Katrina in pictures

The pictures accompanying this story on the aftermath of Katrina carry the weight of a nation. That this is America in the early 21st century is a failure of historic proportion.

Judge: Detroit can't send absentee ballot applications without request

While Maureen's case winds its way through the courts, we are trying to insure that the general election in November doesn't see the widespread abuse of the past. This attempt to get the City Clerk to follow the law has apparently failed. At Camp Casey Detroit last night, Maureen Taylor reported that the Clerk sent out the applications anyways, in direct violation of this court order.

Money for Hurricane relief, not for war!

As the tragedy in New Orleans and the Gulf coast unfolds in the wake of Hurricane Katrina we are hearing numerous stories of our unpreparedness for this catastrophe. The Army Corp of Engineers has been asking for monies to strengthen the levees that failed and drowned the city of New Orleans for decades. This White House called it pork. The head of FEMA this morning said he was surprised at the violent response of people who have been without food, water or shelter for days. I guess the sight of dead bodies in the streets can make people do strange things.

This is a shameful time for America.

http://www.redcross.org

Black people loot, white people find?

As the governor of Mississippi said this morning, times like these bring out "the best in most people and the worst in some". Sometimes those people are the media. Two blogs, BoingBoing and Eschaton point out the captions on two photos showing Katrina victims in similar circumstances (Visit www.redcross.org to help out). Why do the two photos carry such disparate captions?