Agreed Herman, had that been the only issue then growth and moving forward would have been a much more attractive option and it is doubtful that lack of communication alone would lead to an act such as this.

The fact is that Tonks had communications intercepted which incriminated her with the whole-hearted intention of ending the life of Lotta, his own city head.

I am sure you will agree that if there was a credible threat to your own city head that every action would be taken to ensure that the threat was put to ground, so to speak.

PimpHand, I'm not entirely sure where this allegation you've leveled is coming from. I've gone over my notes from LottaBEssen's speech to be sure about it, and I'm still missing something. LottaBEssen spoke of "silence and absence," and of "No communication." I don't see an active charge leveled in the speech saying something like 'Tonks was going to kill me, and I have ze logs.' I have something quite contrary: an allegation that Tonks was "non-performing" and gone. In my view, it would be hard to be around and about, actively plotting, but also nowhere to be found.

To be sure, Lotta also said "What I did hear however, were ripples of dissent. Rumors of a takedown." But this is not at all the same as saying that Tonks' communications were intercepted and Tonks was plotting to overthrow the city head. Non-specific rumors and ripples of dissent are not the same thing as a very specific plot involving a specific individual. I'm sure LottaBEssen heard something unpleasant. I wouldn't dream of questioning the word of a city head on such a basic matter of truth. On the other hand, the statement I see is constructed in passive voice, lacks a subject to do the rumoring and rippling, and on my read doesn't on its own support a strong inference against Tonks.

I would be very happy to receive clarification on this matter as well. I'm just a fellow from another city looking in from the outside, asking a few questions on matters I'm not entirely clear about. I'm sure everyone had their reasons; I simply wish to be blessed by a fuller version of events so that I can understand those reasons in full.

Herman,

I certainly don't owe you or your campaign any explanations since the entire matter was concerning Philadelphia business. Your campaign, though, has recently made it clear that misinformation can be a dangerous thing, so I'll clear up any ambiguities or misunderstandings.

A high ranked member of The Order of the Phoenix had become increasingly disrepectful and insubordinate to myself and others in the city. They acted selfishly and was hurting the city more than helping it. I saw Tonks briefly and was assured that the situation would be resolved.

Days passed and nothing had changed. In fact, it had gotten worse. I had had no communication for days, no answer to personal messages, and no communication in the coffeeshops even though they had had the opportunity to do so.

As yet another day passed, I have several extremely reliable sources make me aware of a plot against me involving the aforementioned high ranking troublemaker.

With my communications being ignored and several reliable sources warning me of what was to come, I did what I had to do to protect the city of Philadelphia from a destructive conflict.

I hope that this clears things up, as I will not be addressing these matters further. My only concern now is moving past this tragedy and helping build the city of Philadelphia.

HermanCain; there are a lot of issues with your reasoning, and I apologize that I won't be able to address them all. However, I'll give you a bit of information to think about.

"I do not know much about the particulars of the Philadelphia situation."

I'll start off on a good note, because this one you were dead-on. You aren't a Philly member, and you don't know particulars, details, and relationships that have fostered and withered in the city of Philadelphia over the past few weeks.

"... are that the city has lost value"

You're right. For weeks, money was flowing into Tonks' pockets to protect him when it should've been routed better. With his death, we lose all the cash that was spent purchasing his protection. Tonks was selfish enough to put his own BG count ahead of LottaBEssen's, despite his recent decrease in activity and care for his family. He was quickly becoming a liability, and we in Philly don't take kindly to money drains. Lotta is too nice to say it, but he had become a bad investment.

"It's a permanent loss. On the other hand, if you temporarily wright off the asset, it can increase again."

What does that even mean? Keep him in power, as some type of uninspiring figurehead just so we don't lose money? That's foolish, and any more time and money spent protecting him would've only hindered Philly. Philly was growing divided, and whatever benefit Tonks served as a lackluster family head was quickly outweighed by the hindrances.

"Why did Tonks need to be written off completely, as opposed to a lagging asset that had growth potential for the city?"

He ignored requests to step down. Are we supposed to deliberately carry dead weight with us if we want to move forward, just because the weight may be worth something later on? Eventually, the costs trump the benefits, and it was time for him to go.

"What was it about the situation that required immediate and irrevocable action instead of a long term growth plan?"

This wasn't "immediate". If you think this is due to Tonks being unavailable for a few days, then you are sorely mistaken. Lotta had repeatedly tried to contact and discuss Philly matters with him; and was ignored. Tonks had plenty of chances to repair this relationship before it came to this, and nothing happened.

Finally, "why "lack of communication" had no other remedy than this one"

What do we do to IA subordinates? Obviously, Tonks' situation was treated with much more care than that of a man in a coma, but Tonks put in little effort and raked in all the benefits. Had he been 100% for Philly, Philly would've treated him nicer. But he decided to protect himself, fund his own interests, and disregard his superior's words.

I hope that answers some of your questions without giving away our "trade secrets".

"I'll start off on a good note, because this one you were dead-on. You aren't a Philly member, and you don't know particulars, details, and relationships that have fostered and withered in the city of Philadelphia over the past few weeks."

I've really got no opinon on this matter. I didn't know Tonks and it doesn't make an iota of difference to my business that they're now in the ground. However, this statement you made to Herman is most strange. True, Herman isn't a philly member; but if you wanted to be pedantic - neither are you, you're an earner. If someone came to the Streets from another city spouting off about Chicago policy, I wouldn't be the one standing there correcting them. Chicago may be my home, but I know my position and my place. I accept that I don't know the inner goings on of my city and won't be until such a time that I'm Made, god willing.

Of course, I could be understating or misunderstanding your position in Philly's structure; as is quite possibly the case given that I'm an outsider. However, teh majority of people are outsiders to Philly, and the way it's going to look to us is as though an earner holds all the cards and knows the city's inner workings. A worrying thought if you ask me.

First, I would preface my own words with an apology. If at any time my words implied that I was in any way entitled to a response, then I am most sorry for that. I only hoped to ask a few questions that I had when I heard the initial speech here, and figured that I would give the fair city of Philadelphia a chance to respond to my inquiries if they so desire. I certainly wouldn't have pressed the matter had the response I received been something as simple as "you're on a need to know basis, and you don't need to know."

With that said, I thank LottaBEssen for taking the opportunity that I presented to explain further. We common folk in the streets always appreciate every scrap of information we can lay ears on. I understand the reluctance to air dirty laundry about whom this "high ranking troublemaker" is. At next opportunity I'll simply scan through the obituaries section of my newspaper to see what I can perceive with my own eyes. Rest assured, I would never question the legitimate elimination of a troublemaker and all of his co-conspirators from within a city's ranks, and I'm glad that this matter has been cleared up to efficiently.

As for Pharol, thank you for filling in the gaps that LottaBEssen had left. I am puzzled by your first words though, namely: "I'll start off on a good note, because this one you were dead-on. You aren't a Philly member, and you don't know particulars, details, and relationships that have fostered and withered in the city of Philadelphia over the past few weeks." Why, pray tell, are you repeating exactly what I said myself? I have attempted to be as courteous in my quest for knowledge as I can. I hope that I am mistaken that this was an attempt to give offense. It would be a shame should upstanding presidential candidates not be able to at least ask a few questions regarding an organization's business decisions, even if not entitled to a response. After all, experts would never have been able to agree on the superiority of my 9-9-9 tax plan had they not had the willing cooperation of business leaders in crafting my unique solution to America's problems.

With that, I think I have covered all of the questions I had, and I thank everyone for their time. If you would like to hear more about my plan for America's future, please contact my press agent and we will get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you all, and God bless the United States of America!

Herman Cain flashes his signature grin for the cameras and walks back to his limousine, waving to the crowds that had gathered to hear his words. He steps inside and the motorcade speeds off into the distance, leaving the Cain supporters in the crowd wishing to hear more. A few scattered chants of "Nine! Nine! Nine!" break out in the background and then subside.

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A young gentleman saunters up to the conversation and contibutes.

Mr. Cain, perhaps Pharol was merely reiterating your point to try to mirror your success in the polls. Also, am I to understand that if you ever run your operation in our particular line of work... that all taxes will be set to 9%?