Friends, it is not power, glory, or riches that I seek.  Rather it is a noble solution to an ignoble situation.  We are living in a world where Mokus has put his heart, soul, and the totality of his brain into creating a complex, yet interesting, competition and his response is resounding silence.

We live in a world that was once alive with speeches given by person, to one person, but that lasted for months at a time.  Are we not at a stage where we miss these types of speeches?

What we have is what is missing: Something of a void (and not the late, lamented leader of Detroit).  We are missing structure, debate, direction, and dedication.

The Streets historically have worked best when led by a Leader of the Streets.  To me, that is as obvious as business in a business district that's been subject to a hostile takeover and changed completely.  It's obvious.

Too many times, the Leader of the Streets was murdered for stewarding the Streets.  It is little wonder that so few bloodlines put their lives on the line to lead the Streets.

And this is where I come in.  For expediency, I am going to tell a lie, and that lie is that my lineage has never led the Streets.  It is important that I stick to this line, and it's important that you go along with me.  We must accept that my lineage has never led the Streets.

Next, we must discuss IF we need a Leader of the Streets, and then ask WHO should be the Leader of the Streets, finally deciding WHEN and WHY I should be appointed Leader of the Streets.

I believe I have the backing of most, of not all upper structures in this thing of ours.  Sadly, I am currently lacking the ability to contact, at will and at pace, all upper structures, but perhaps I will sooner rather than later.

For those unsure as to whether we need a Leader of the Streets, who here remembers Furio?  His anger, his rage, led to about a third of our population dying.  A robust Leader of the Streets would have prevented that.  

And, of course, purging basically stops when there is a Leader of the Streets.

So, to recap:

Do we NEED a Leader of the Streets?

Do we WANT a Leader of the Streets?

What is the point of a Leader of the Streets?

What are the drawbacks of a Leader of the Streets?

Whilst I appreciate the 20k, I would prefer tips to be in the millions.  But more important than that, I would like your thoughts, your comments, your questions, your support.

BadWolf was sitting at a new pop up Café named Maison de Lumière et Élégance sipping on some Velours Noir Reserve when a young lad walked by and started speaking to those that would listen. He approached BadWolf exclaiming his name to be Leader

"First of all, please accept this gift of a hat.  It's from a hattery I like.  It's yours.  You're welcome."

"​​Why thank you good lad, I do like a good top!"

BadWolf dons the tophat and fits it snug flicking the brim in happiness.

Leader then adressed the nearby passerbys and proclaimed his views to wich wrapped up to key points.

Do we NEED a Leader of the Streets?

​​​​​pondering for a minute he thought to himself and what he's seen of the streets recently. 

​​​​​​"They could use a good street sweeping and management I do say, maybe people would venture out a bit more"

Do we WANT a Leader of the Streets?

"I don't see that it could hurt if it's the right man/woman/squirrel"

"What is the point of a Leader of the Streets?"

"Thinking back to journals I've thumbed through in bygone years multiple groups and people have attempted to take the reigns some would argue the streets were like a bustling like a festival, can only be good for the local shops and community"

"What are the drawbacks of a Leader of the Streets?"

 "In the far flung past from a few entries in my pa-paws third removed cousins uncle nephew in law from the old country speaks of a time when the streets were led almost to a dictator fashion, couldn't speak without rehearsal with the appropriate authorities, you had to have a permit to linger around some shops, some demanded fees and a dictated even breath spoken, are face brutal floggings, some where said to even be so uptight if you breathed at the wrong person you might find your self in a shoe box, how do we ensure that a leader of the streets doesn't devolve into such manners?"

BadWolf sipped his Velours Noir Reserve and smiled at the pleasant exquisite taste and contemplated his thoughts on the matter.

Thanks to Badwolf for the commentary, but $500k compared to $80k for me?

I note that I sent out a number of hats but have only got one thank you.

Tommy_Vitale - could the Gazette cover this?

As much as I love philosophical questions, I think most of those posed here are rhetorical. We all know the answers to these questions. Having a Leader of the Streets has always been a spark to inspire creativity among mobsters. A Mafia Muse, if you will.

That being said, I am absolutely devastated that my nomination for Leader of the Streets (LoTS) was just gunned down in an act of brutal violence. I think we have learned that to find a real LoTS, you have to look in the most unobvious places. That's where true inspiration comes from. I thought iShotUrBGsLol fit this description perfectly. This unknown entity roamed the streets independently, showing no bias towards anyone, and apparently hating everyone equally. This unknown entity also seemed to have some sort of grievance, which is great fuel to spark discussions.

So now what? The obvious candidate is no longer with us. We certainly don't want "Leader" to take up the mantle. He has not even been appointed yet and is already demanding all your money. Can you imagine what would happen if he were to actually ascend the throne? Total abuse of power. We cannot allow that.

I don't have an answer right now, with the violent murder being so recent, but we need to keep this discussion alive. Our future may depend on it.

WhyIsTheToaster - could his son offer some guidance?  I must agree that we lost a potential leader in that man.

Who else could handle the job?  Clearly Transistor would love the attention, but the ability gap that has plagued his lineage would see him stumble early on.

What about a dark horse like RonMael?

I quite agree with MOSGA, if done right. I agree that there has been a lack of activity in the great streets of this nation, but I offer this. Outside of this debate that has been opened, what have we as a collective done to reinvigorate activity? Sure, the ownness can be on leadership, but let’s not forget each crew is a team, some of those teams having built relationships up with others, either in their city or external to it.

What have we as teams seeking to bring this life back, done to encourage and guide our fellows into getting back onto the streets? What have we done to help them shape that fantastical idea they’ve had for a business into something tangible? Help our people tell THEIR stories, offer fresh perspectives we’ve not really seen much of these day.

Will a “leader” of the streets seek to make that happen? Can they even make that happen? Based on what I have seen, that would be the primary role of said individual. Why make that an individual though? There is more than just a single street. More than just a single body of people that live in the world of ours. Why not just accept that things have fallen to the wayside and collectively seek to bring out and encourage that side of those who remain here, rather than seeking to put one person over those all who might be capable of rising to the task?

Gary mentions things have boiled down to the same 15 people that make up the “sorry train” that leads things now. Let this comment alone, be the fire that kicks your ass back into gear. Am I optimistic? Sure, but I wholeheartedly agree that people should be rewarded for the time and effort they pour into an idea they spin into reality, and that has been missing. One person won’t fix that, but those that stop by this meeting of the minds are more than capable of embodying the change they wish to see.

I don’t feel it should be a single individual trying to lead these streets. No, I think it should be the one’s actively trying to take part in this nation’s growth that should focus more on not only expressing your own ideas, weather they are a hit or not, while also helping to build up those you stand shoulder to shoulder with to make their dreams become a reality. Supporting those we see out there rolling their sleeves up to make shit happen.

End of the day, I personally feel, that it is all our jobs to foster an environment for our own to flourish. We are the underbelly of this great nation. If we can’t look after and support our own in these kinds of ventures, then why would you call this your way of life?

I don’t feel it should be a single individual trying to lead these streets.

Walter is suggesting an official Street Leadership Committee. I'm for it. Maybe after all these years of Kuku-lineage Leaders of the Streets, a series of Governors-General of the Streets would be a nice change. How do we begin the electoral process? I would like to put myself forward for viceroy of the flagging newspaper industry.

I agree with the committee idea. I could see it also encompassing a committee member for each city to allow as a "representative", maybe factor in Forum VIP standings as well?

I like the suggestion Dynamite but my immediate reaction is to take it one step further: we elect an egalitarian committee of city representatives to legislate street behavior, while simultaneously installing an unofficial First Triumvirate of Street Leaders armed with the level of influence necessary to bypass the pesky republican constitution. One of the great benefits of this, off the top of my head, is that it would also offer roles in which we can on-board gangsters, goombas and earners into visiting the Streets, as small citizen militias would be necessary for intimidating voters and strong-arming decisions our way. 

OK, so I'm guessing the automatic nomination for controlling the militia and coordinating the committee should go to me?

Let's let the electoral process play out. I believe in a free country. A fair country. And once the unadulterated march of a free and fair democracy has concluded, I believe in the thesholds between which you can empower violence and wealth to serve your own needs. Would any leaders be opposed to their Earners and below killing each other in gruesome blunt-object and knife-fight Street melees in order to secure the necessary election result that would secure a better future for the Streets? I would stand on top of a thousand bodies just to make sure the next Transistor speech has just one single response. 

I wouldn't say that, necessarily. While I respect that you opened this topic for debate, what would you say qualifies you as an impartial entity to make such decisions? If you wish us to believe the lie that that you've never lead the streets, why not open the forum to those willing to speak up. Share the topic with the crews and let those who wish, have the their chance to speak their piece. 

Not at all trying to discredit what you have done here, Leader. You opened the door for a discussion, and here we are. I applaud your efforts for getting us to have the conversations we've had thus far, but how open is your mind to the path that may be forged moving forward? Will you support it how you can, or seek to seize what modicum of control you can?

I for one hope to see you aid this, however it plays out. Ushering us into potentially new era.

I also wouldn't resort to bloodshed over this, unless one of my own were being dragged through the mud unjustly. Fair trade agreement, of sorts. Not all speeches and businesses will catch hold of the nation and that's the other side of this coin we have to be willing to accept as well. A balance is what we will need to focus on striking, least as close to balance as we can get. 

There is a place, a niche, for most all of us. It's simply our duty as leaders and members of this community to bring that forward. Else, our way of live starves out and becomes nothing more than a note in history books.

Bloodshed may be necessary, Walter. I'm sure you've heard the saying "To make an omelette, you have to break a few eggs". At the moment, there are lots of eggs laying around and no omelettes. Meanwhile, I have had no breakfast and I'm hungry.

Sorry to be a debbie downer, but I don't think group leadership in this has worked. This is an important moment, not one to try to reinvent the wheel. We need a single, strong, fair leader. And not a Leader. Leader just wants your money and to kill your goombas. He has made that obvious in this discussion. He doesn't even try to thinly veil it anymore. I think the Squid guy shows some potential. He's aggressive without being barbaric, knows what he wants and what we need, and has altruistic motives.

Just some food for thought. Omelettes for thought. Whatever.