Pot? Hi, it's Kwame. And he's calling you black again.

I think Kwame Kilpatrick may have taken that good ol' children's comeback "I'm rubber and you're glue" a little too seriously for far too long.

In his State of the City address last night, Kwame introduced what sounded like some decent projects (but he's done this in the past and failed to produce) and in very technical, academic terms, gave a great speech. Nonetheless, he had some idiotic things to say near the end.

This unethical, illegal lynch mob mentality has to stop.

Wow. Those words actually came out of his mouth. I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried, folks. He actually said it. He also, oddly enough, played the race card in a city that's 80% African American and with largely African American foes in City Council and elsewhere. I mean, if the attacks were coming from the suburbs or from L. Brooks Patterson or whatever, I could see it. But it just rings hollow when he uses it in a situation like this.

Let's dissect this statement for a moment, shall we?

Unethical

Definition: adjectivenot conforming to approved standards of social or professional behavior; "unethical business practices" [ant: ethical]

See to me, Kwame, the only one that has been unethical around here has been you. And, of course, those that conspire with you. The easiest target is your professional license as an attorney of this state. I know for a fact that your failure to tell the truth under oath, your participation in a scheme to undermine the authority of the City Council by purposefully producing two settlement documents--one for the public and one for the few involved--and perhaps more behavior (i.e. covering up the murder of a person, for example) are more than just a hop, skip, and jump over the line between ethical and unethical--it's a goddamn plane trip to get where you're at. Like one of those plane trips where you damn near earn another ticket in frequent flyer miles along the way. So the last person that should be talking ethics is you. I suggest you step outside of your glass house, then Kwame, before you start tossing stones.

Now if he's referring to the media, it's still no better. The media in this instance actually worked to do a service for the people of Detroit. Oddly enough they worked within the system (via a legal subpoena) to get the text messages at the heart of what began this thing to uncover your unethical behavior. Talk about turning things around, Kwame. I think you pulled a Superman with that statement and turned the Earth back in time. Of course, that's assuming anyone believes you (which I pray they don't).

Illegal

Definition–adjective
1. forbidden by law or statute.
2. contrary to or forbidden by official rules, regulations, etc.: The referee ruled that it was an illegal forward pass.

Now see, again, Kwame, I believe you might have been talking about yourself. Illegal implies that someone (other than yourself) has done something that is forbidden by law or statute. And again, I'm pressed to see anyone but you doing or having done anything illegal. See a subpoena is a legal document that has the authority of the court. You do know what a court is, don't you? You testified in one a few months back, if you forgot.

What a sad state of affairs when the mayor of one of the most promising places on Earth doesn't understand the word "illegal." But the thing is, that I think you know Kwame. You know what gives me that impression? You used it earlier in your speech in the proper context ("illegal dumping"). That leads me to believe you're capable of using the word. So I suggest that next time you use it in a not-so-misleading way.

lynch mob mentality

Lynch Mob Definition: noun a mob that kills a person for some presumed offense without legal authority
Mentality Definition: the set of one's mind; view; outlook: a liberal mentality

Your use of this term demeans the hundreds or thousands of people in this country alone who have been the victims of lynch mobs. Your use of it just belittles their victimization into something akin to what you are going through. Get this Kwame--lynch mobs usually have the mentality to do something wrong (i.e. hurt or murder someone). The "lynch mob" in this case, as you refer to the media and those who distrust you for what you've done, actually has the "mentality" to do something good--namely, show your misappropriation of City resources for your own personal benefit and to the detriment of the citizens.

It's a sad state of affairs when in one breath you claim that this is based on race and in the next you demean the experience of so many victims of racial violence by using this term out of context. It makes me think that your claims of racial bigotry are nothing but comments meant to encite the people of Detroit who are mostly people of color into somehow believing that this is another attempt by the "outsiders" (i.e. white people) to take over the City and remove a good man from power just because of the color of his skin. And that, my friend, is what is sad. It discredits the civil rights of every citizen of Detroit, most of whom have experienced and continue to experience racism and bigotry on a daily basis. It serves to do nothing but further the economic, racial and social rift between those who live in the suburbs and those who live in the City, and I think we all realize that to meet our full potential we must work together. But way to pull a tactic out of the Coleman A. Young playbook and use it to the most extreme advantage of yours.

To sum it up, Kwame, telling the media and the public these lies has got to stop. It seems you've been doing that too much lately. That and scaring people into submission so that they won't tell the truth (which is quite the mob-like mentality, if you ask me).

You honestly would have been better served to keep your mouth shut on this one. You have dug yourself a hole so deep that your comments do nothing but ring hollow in the walls of your own political grave.

At least, what I hope is your political grave.