You are nobody, but you are somebody, and you are not alone finally!

Wolf, “OUCH”, you have been fighting so hard with all your heart. Your demanding list is certainly not long enough, and we are going to help you add more, and more, and make it as long as possible.

Are these people of city council either blind or deaf? What kind of data they are looking for and what is the theory behind for them to deny and delay? Are there more people taking the cabs when the gas price goes up, or the hotter the weather is, less gas the Crown Victoria consumes? Do they lose the data of your mileages taken at each of inspections? Is it the same rule applied to them at the hearing as the one used at the Department of Administrative Hearings, which is so called “prima fascia” evidences, to warrant such demand, or request proceedings? If Mr. Red can not speak any more, his condition should not be considered existed by this administration. Are they going to explain to you the true meaning of accountability from any elected government officials? Are they going to continue to run it this way? Please Wolf, talk to these people for us whenever you have a chance. They speak English, but I don’t do very well.

Faarax, I admire you dearly of your objective opinions posted. I can understand how hard to support families by an ordinary working person like you. I don’t have family here, and I don’t have any children. But I was raised by working parents with total income of less than $50/month along with my sister. Soon, you children will grow up just fine like me. They will understand that their father is not only a loving and caring farther, but also a very strong man with principles. They will understand that it is not right to put too much food in their plates to waste. I never expect that you agree with me, of cause, but we must agree on something. I believe in America. It is not right for this administration to create an environment of Working Poor, and it is very possible that we can make it right by working together. Taxi drivers are facing the same problems all over the country. It can never be one person’s mission to make the change. Union – Taxi Workers’ Alliance will be the right way to go. See for yourself what the follow taxi drivers have been achieved in 17 cities starting from New York. United we can all stand a chance. United we can win!

If you think that you are doing OK, why start to jump out to trouble yourself?

If you feel that your rights and interests are taken away little by little, you should think about your future carefully.

If you have been pushed over the edge against your limit, you should speak up for your own good. What can be worse since you have nothing left to lose against all kinds of possible retaliations?

I am not trying to turn the society upside down as I am a member of it. I am apeaceful person who value the life and like to live in peace. Working people are working people, and there should not be Working Poor in America anywhere. I believe in America!

George, I did not pay close attention of your article until Wolf pointed out. I believe that you are wrong by calling Prateek a snake, a bright young college student who knows very little about the taxi business, and has been trying very hard to bring everyone together. He can make any mistakes disapproved by your standard, but certainly he is not a snake. What is wrong by suggesting Melissa to bring her children to the camera? Don’t you think that they should not know what is right and what is wrong? Don’t you think that they should be proud of their mother standing up for thousands of others who she doesn’t even know? Don’t you think that they should be in front of the camera to have this shining moment recorded together?

George, you know better where real snakes are. You must know the one Deputy Commissioner who has been with DCS longer than anyone. He does not show up most of the time, but he is the conspiracy one for the most of the operations and Jeff Brown must report to him directly. You know who started the business with a very different image from New York. He knows the best how to suck drivers’ blood by a secret hand shake deal with our Mayor. You know very well who owns the worst fleet of cars in town which are barely made to the condition of “drivable”. You must know very well why the city sends inspectors to the airports instead of going to the garages to check the cars. Would it be much easier for them to do so? You know very well that they use drivers to complain to their owners because the hassle situation created to drive the car all the way back? You can’t say too much, and we all know the reason why. I appreciated that you keep this forum open. We understand that business is business, and we all have to find a way to survive. If you are the one who really like to see drivers organized, you surely can be part of this.

Mr. Tang

Mr. Tang:

You wrote, "Wolf, “OUCH”, you have been fighting so hard with all your heart."

What has Wolf ever done except complain and threaten?

You wrote that Prateek is, "a bright young college student who knows very little about the taxi business"

I agree.

You wrote that Prateek, "has been trying very hard to bring everyone together."

How?

You wrote, "What is wrong by suggesting Melissa to bring her children to the camera?"

Read my editorial again. I think I was very clear in my opinion there.

"Don’t you think that they should not know what is right and what is wrong?"

That's what they'd like for you to believe. That they know what's better for you and me than we do. Their attitude is that we need to be taken care of. I say no. We need to take care of ourselves.

You wrote, "George, you know better where real snakes are. You must know the one Deputy Commissioner who has been with DCS longer than anyone. He does not show up most of the time, but he is the conspiracy one for the most of the operations and Jeff Brown must report to him directly."

I don't know who you're talking about.

You wrote, "You know who started the business with a very different image from New York. He knows the best how to suck drivers’ blood by a secret hand shake deal with our Mayor."

I know a lot of people who came out of New York. I don't know who you're referring to specifically. I don't know anything about a secret hand shake deal with our mayor. Neither do you. That's conspiracy theory.

You wrote, "You know very well who owns the worst fleet of cars in town which are barely made to the condition of “drivable”."

I think that the fleet with the worst cars is up for debate, as is the fleet with the best cars.

You wrote, "You must know very well why the city sends inspectors to the airports instead of going to the garages to check the cars."

I don't know why the city does what it does. But if I may speculate, there are a few possible reasons which come to mind. I'm not saying I necessarily agree with all of these reasons but they are possible:

1. Money. By getting a car that's on the road, the city can get money from the driver and the owner.

2. Efficiency. Tell me a single place in the city of Chicago where you could find that many cabs at the same time as there are at O'Hare? There isn't any. Not even close. It would seem to be to be an efficient place to check cars.

3. Public safety and public image. The city doesn't want a cab to sneak through O'Hare or Midway that is dirty or mechanically unsound only for one of our guests of the city to get into it and have an unpleasant or dangerous experience.

4. The airports don't discriminate. If inspectors went to a garage, conspiracy theorists like you and Wolf would say that they were targeting a specific owner.

5. If you go to a garage to inspect a car, the owner could simply say that the car is not going out because it needs to be repaired. A car with a driver, on the other hand, is proof that the owner let the car out and that a driver took it.

You wrote, "You know very well that they use drivers to complain to their owners because the hassle situation created to drive the car all the way back?"

I agree.

You wrote, "You can’t say too much, and we all know the reason why."

Come on Mr. Tang. Don't hold back now. If you all know something then just say it. I can't wait to hear this one.

"I appreciated that you keep this forum open."

Thank you. I'm happy to keep it open so that everyone has the chance to express their opinions.

"If you are the one who really like to see drivers organized, you surely can be part of this."

Be a part of what? When drivers are ready to organize, I'll be the first in line to help them. Drivers need to speak for themselves. That's what was so refreshing about Melissa coming on the scene. Neither the Friends nor Wolf Weiss speak for all drivers and neither do I.

George Lutfallah

Threaten?
Do I threaten?
Too much or too little?
Threaten like "the end is near" threaten?
Or, threaten like "watch out, you'll get into big trouble" or "I admonish you to behave yourself" threaten?
Complain?
Do I complain?
To little or too much?
Complain like, Oh ****, what is wrong with this planet?"
Or complain like "Officer, that is they guy who hit me!"
Somebody once said "A man who belittles everything around him has a very small mind."
Maybe all I've done is complain and threaten, but that may be way better than twisting the facts and then pretending it's all OK to do so.
To anyone who feels threatened by my remarks, who experiences fear, I would suggest you take a thorough look within for that is where that feeling comes from.
Such feelings are usually feeling of guilt for some bad or wrongful act -- the precursors of remorse.
Sometimes these feelings are the after-shock of having a "new one" torn.

George,

If Wolf likes to complain, it is going to be his problem, not yours!

If Prateek did not do his job right, let him worry about it himself.

If you can take care of yourself, so can everyone els!

Do you think that 10,000 drivers need you to speak for them? Everyone must see the truth like you?

Has Wolf ever taken advantage of you, and so has Prateek? Are you saying that everyone must have the same opinion on every issue?

How can you be so seriously the first in line when everyone here is trying to find a way to destroy the real source for the injustice? In you opinion, we can take care of ourselves by pointing fingers among each other.

You don’t like Prateek, and you don’t like Wolf, I can understand. Since when it becomes your big problem, you need to be a speaker of drivers who must fight with drivers who like Wolf and Prateek to get your things done? Why do you worry about some drivers been led to a wrong way by a “snake”? You can find your own line and to be the first all the time, I guess.

It just makes no sense to debate any further!

Wishing you well!

Mr. Tang

COMPLAINING is my job, my sworn taxicab vigilante duty.

I do this for my brothers and sisters behind the wheel of their taxicabs and who are getting screwed by the City and fleet owners.

I do this for my brothers and sisters who own taxicabs and are getting screwed by the City.

I do this for my brothers and sisters who are cheated, mistreated, lied to and misled by the cheaters, mistreaters, liars and misleaders who infest City Hall and DCS and Administrative Hearings.

However, if I have complained about something that is really nothing to complain about in the first place, please let me know.

If anyone out there has ever been threatened by me (not counting deadbeat customers!) I would like to know.

Oh, I get it, those who have cheated, mistreated, lied to and misled the taxicab drivers are ones threatened by a very clear and present danger.

Yes, clear and present danger of one or more active organizations that are out to stop this cheating, mistreating, lying and misleading -- like those who infest City Hall and their enforcers and henchmen.

So,thanks for the good report card, brother George!

Oh, and sorry about the language in this posting, I had to take some old words (cheat, mistreat, mislead) and twist them into new nouns (cheater, mistreater, misleader).

However, this is not like other twisting of words (by some in the taxicab media industry) that we have previously brought to light.

You can spell "liars" in many ways -- Daley, Reyes, Transportation Committee, City Council...the list is long.

Perhaps those who feel threatened by my complaining have the most to lose by the plain and simple truth!