Posted on 02/24/2006 3:01:45 PM PST by Fireinthehole
Friday, as city leaders worked on a plan to save the Detroit Zoo, a council member made a controversial comment. Kwame Kenyatta called L. Brooks Patterson the "Grand Dragon of Oakland County," a title typically associated with the Ku Klux Klan.
During a Detroit City Council meeting to discuss transferring the Detroit Zoo from the city to the Zoological Society, council member Kwame Kenyatta lashed out at Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson.
"We’ve asked for a public apology from Mr. Brooks Patterson. He’s refused to give such an apology which ranks him right up there with being a Grand Dragon, in fact, I call him the Grand Dragon of Oakland County who said that this council belong in the zoo as opposed to making decisions for the zoo. And of course he made the comment during the height of Black History Month," he said.
Tuesday, after council rejected a plan that could cost the zoo $4 million in aid, Patterson said in a press conference that council members belong in a zoo, not deciding its fate.
This occurred after council member Barbara Rose-Collins suggested on Monday that state legislatures were treating them as if they were on a plantation, a statement for which she has apologized.
(Excerpt) Read more at detnow.com ...
hardly "bleating", LOL (cutesy word, tho)
You're obviously stuck in the Superbowl mode of pumping detroit instead of being honest. The same thing happened in Rhodesia.
Well we can't have that, can we. Better to piss and moan and make schitt up about a perfectly good Zoo. That's much better.
The picture of the Detroit City Council provided in post #10 raises for me a most serious matter:is that Council really all that multicultural and reflective of the diverse population of Detroit? Argue zoo funding all you will. I find that to be a much bigger issue.
"Better to piss and moan and make schitt up about a perfectly good Zoo."
Yes!
And that is exactly what Detroit City Council et al have done. Poorly disguised extortion, since they've worn out their welcome as "victim". The only remaining problem if the deal goes thru is that they will retain "ownership", so stay tuned for round 2. They might well try to "sell" it the next time around.
A PHOTOGRAPHIC ESSAY: THE RUINS OF DETROIT
http://www.white-history.com/hwrdet.htm
Oh my God, tell me you didn't just post a link to a white supremacist sight to back up your assertions. Jesus Christ.
Kawame looks like the bell boy (who sold or was) Phillip Morris.
link to a white supremacist sight
No, I posted a link to pictures of detroit........the same pictures that are on a number of sites under the same title - "THE RUINS OF DETROIT"......search the title yourself and see how many hits there are......admittedly, I should have considered which one to link or not link, but I simply took the first one that appeared, and inadvertently gave you cause to play the race card rather than acknowledge the photographs.......the last time I saw these pics it was through a link posted on the site of WDIV, the local NBC affiliate teevee station.
Detroit IS what it has become over the last 35 or more years. If you need to proclaim the indisputable truth as "racist", go for it.
see, it doesn't matter who dares to publish these pics of the ruination, they always produce a chorus of whining....(I trust that you won't even bother to try the race card bit on a basketball team. Or will you again try to prohibit the truth?)
7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777
Kings apologize for Detroit-bashing pictures
November 10, 2005
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) -- The Sacramento Kings bought full-page ads in two newspapers to apologize for showing derogatory images of Detroit on video screens prior to their home opener against the Pistons.
When the Pistons were introduced Tuesday night, the Arco Arena scoreboard flashed pictures of abandoned buildings, burned-out cars, piles of rubble and other negative images of Detroit. The Pistons won the game 102-88.
The Kings apologized that night and owners Joe and Gavin Maloof bought a full-page ad that ran in Thursday editions of The Detroit News, expressing ``great respect for Detroit's long and rich tradition as a landmark American city and the incredibly positive impact the Motor City has made over the course of our country's history.''
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The ad will also run in Friday editions of the Detroit Free Press.
``We all feel terrible that we made just a big mistake, and we want to communicate that,'' Kings spokeswoman Sonja Brown told the News.
Pistons coach Flip Saunders said he and his assistants were initially angered by the display, but settled down after hearing from the Kings.
``Their organization has always been very first-class. Opening night, sometimes they get really excited,'' Saunders told the Free Press. ``Some of their people, they just really weren't quite thinking all the way.''
NBA spokesman Tim Frank said the league is reviewing the incident.
NBA policy prohibits ``ridiculing of opponents or game officials ... via PA announcements, video, or matrix displays, music or mascot skits.''
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ap-pistons-kings-apology&prov=ap&type=lgns
"This has turned into wretched publicity for the Detroit city counsel, but I have to say that if I were on it, I'd have voted against the proposal, too.
The city of Detroit built the zoo, then rebuilt it after 696 went through it. The City funds the zoo almost entirely, with a little support from the State and a rinky-dink non-profit arm. Despite some snarky comments above, it's an excellent facility, one of the best in the country.
For some reason the mayor is getting off scott free on this. He gave the Counsel 48 hours to vote on a plan to give away the Zoo to a non-profit, then got on a plane for a trip to Africa.
Counsel will very likely vote to approve the plan, but want to examine the deal thoroughly, making sure it's in the best interest of Detroit. There's nothing wrong with that.
Brooks Patterson should STFU. Unless he's offering to bring money to the table, he has no say in the matter. His suggestion that the Counsel were animals who should be put in the zoo wasn't all that helpful.
Not forgetting that a few years ago there was an attempt at regionalization of the arts and zoo funding with a lousy .25 millage proposal. It went down in flames in the suburbs."
Who is telling you this? Nothing you have written in accurate.
Uh, could you elaborate a little on what you think is inaccurate?
For the past several years, the city of Detroit has provided just over $7 million of the zoo’s $22 million operating budget, Warden said. Ticket sales contribute another $7 million annually.
Through its fundraising and annual membership revenue, the society has been contributing about $2 million a year to operations and $3 million to $4 million for things such as marketing and advertising, Warden said.
http://www.crainsdetroit.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?newsId=8088
"But there are some concerns, the biggest being what happens to the Zoo's 160 City employees"
What killed DARTA? hint, City Employees.
I'm not sure if I'm supposed to respond to that, since we seem to be in agreement : )
The City gave around $7 million per year to run the Zoo. The State kicked in another $2 million. The rest of the money was raised by ticket sales and fundraising.
MAYBE the Society can raise the extra $9 million per year to keep the Zoo as is. But don't forget capital improvements. On top of the operating budget, the City funded exhibit and infrastructure upgrades. That adds another several million every couple of years.
Brooks said today that he has no interest in a regional tax to operate the Zoo, but hopes that Huron Clinton Metroparks can step in. Let's hope he's right.
Oh, re: Darta. The unions fought Darta. John Engler killed it.
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