~ what we mean to say is, the enormous amounts of garbage that litter the streets and sidewalks of philadelphia – ‘cheetos’ bags, beer bottles, chicken bones – are a larger threat to a suitable quality of life than is the possibilty that a teenager might have a firearm. if teenagers aren’t swayed by the consequences of robbing or shooting someone, they aren’t going to be dismayed by the thought of being fined if they caught with a gun. they aren’t using guns because guns are available; they are using them because they have no other prospects around here. on top of that, frisking people in the streets is unconstitutional. cleaning up pizza boxes and campaign signs in the park – and picking up recycled materials from residences once a week – is not.

~ also, to the white house, if jimmy carter is ‘increasingly irrelevant’, then he wouldn’t be on the front page, and you wouldn’t be commenting on him. the fact that you go to the press with statements on him proves you have defeated your own argument.