No Mr. Vassallo, I'm not saying any of those things at all. And boy, you really misconstrued a lot this time around! What I've been saying all along is that for a very long stretch of time now Northeast Philadelphia has been heavily in the back pocket of both Big Oil as well as China -- or at least those who retail in Chinese slave-produced goods -- and both entities share a strong interest in keeping Northeast Philadelphia locked in this dumbed-down state, for lack of a better way of putting it. And if Northeast Philadelphia is to lift itself out of this, what options does it have? Regarding its breaking free from the Big Oil stranglehold, one option it has, which many other places throughout the U.S. don't but wish that they did, is a pedestrian-oriented infrastructure still very much in place in certain places. But working against that are many factors that discourage people from making full use of it once more. These factors include peer pressure, unregulated crime at the street level, employers who discriminate against those who walk rather than drive, businesses geared to motorists (Kmart, for instance, does not provide home delivery), doctors who do not make house calls, the overloading of existing streets and thoroughfares with too many vehicles (which results in accidents with pedestrians), a public transit system that is not always adequate and on and on goes the list. And all of these factors combined force Northeast Philadelphians to drive whether they wish to or not. Can we agree on that much? Yes or no? But even if all these factors were removed, would Northeast Philadelphians gleefully return to a pedestrian-oriented lifestyle once more? For that's where the biggest challenge of all lies in all this.

For Northeast Philadelphians as a general rule perceive themselves as "better" if they drive instead of walk. And the way Northeast Philadelphia is currently being run only reinforces that viewpoint. And it's all to the tune of huge profits being made by Big Oil, which in this case is the ultimate drug pusher so to speak. Is it a case where Big Oil couldn't care less if Northeast Philadelphia suddenly reverted to being completely pedestrian-oriented once more? I don't think so. I think it would be very upset by that.

You cite when the war in Iraq first broke out. If you can recall vividly the events that took place at that time, there were anti-war demonstrations held all over the world, and one of the most prevailing phrases seen on protest signs was "No blood for oil." But do you remember what the big catchphrase was that was being circulated both by the federal government and major corporations right at that same time? To refresh your memory it was: "Keep America rolling." And I remember that day the war broke out so well. I went out walking that day just to see what the general mood was like throughout Northeast Philadelphia, naturally expecting vehicular traffic around here to be at an absolute minimum as people cut down on their driving to stay home to focus on the breaking out war more. But instead, do you know what I saw, Sir? More cars and SUVs packing Northeast Philadelphia's streets and major thoroughfares that day than I believe I ever saw before in my life. In fact, as I look back now, I count it as one of the most surreal experiences I think I ever had. For come on, aside from the "weapons of mass-destruction" bit and Iraq's having strong links to Al Qaeda -- both of which later proved to be totally untrue -- who among us here in Northeast Philadelphia did not know that oil was the biggest factor of all why we were heading into Iraq? But even on that day -- talk about being addicted to oil and under the control of Big Oil itself -- an overwhelming majority of Northeast Philadelphians perceived themselves as being "better" for having cars and driving rather than walking. I know people who drive but didn't have to drive that day but who drove anyway, just to be a part of it. To show their pride, that is, the pride of the sacrifice of young American soldiers' lives so they could keep on driving. And you suggest Big Oil could not care less if what took place throughout Northeast Philadelphia that day had occurred or not? For I say quite the contrary, Big Oil was very much a driving force behind it. For, indeed, the pusher very much cares that its customer-base remains strong. But it's what the pusher doesn't care about that we all have to worry about, and which I saw very vividly that day.

When caught totally off guard, people do stupid things, such as what I saw throughout Northeast Philadelphia that day. But when they keep on doing stupid things -- when the death toll of U.S. soldiers exceeds the 3,000 mark and so on -- then we know a pusher type entity has a major hand in it somewhere.

President Bush in his State of the Union Address the other night, for instance, why didn't he pledge billions of dollars towards the reviving of in-place pedestrian infrastructures such as the one we have here as well as creating new ones all throughout the rest of the U.S.? Well the reason is simple. How are pusher type entities supposed to profit from that? A switchover to ethanol they can. With the introduction of hybrids they can.

Now as for you and your organization, if you're sincere about making Northeast Philadelphia entirely pedestrian-oriented throughout, rest assured I am behind you 100%. For it can be done if certain things are done. But over the past several years I have encountered those who say they're against the war in Iraq, who think a return to pedestrianism is a good idea, seeing the link between the two, but who were quick to yank the carpet right out from under me the moment I tried teaming up with them to go the next step. Major opportunities lost in other words. For everyone is so afraid of Big Oil, not seeing the much bigger thing to be afraid of right behind that. Which is all I see.

Now China and its slave-produced goods being sold all throughout the Northeast, that's another big issue, too. And the controversy of it relates to your organization in that if Northeast Philadelphia is to get out from under that dependency as well, a return to pedestrianism should play an instrumental role in it. All this is heady stuff I realize. But I'll tell you, if Northeast Philadelphia keeps on the track it's on now, not a single person reading this is going to be happy with what tomorrow's outcome will be. If you disagree with that, then I have to question your whole organization's sincerity. For you're like the house painter who's painting the side of the house that's on fire.