Mr. Nathan,

Was the "entire purpose of the bully" to disrupt or derail?

I thought you apologized for insulting George Lutfallah after he politely declined to attend ANOTHER one of your pointless meetings.

-Mike Foulks

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

DN:Hello everyone --- Your next meeting will be a productive one without me there. I am going to continue to make myself available for consultation and help as needed principally on a time donated basis. But I am not taking any more time that I could bill to paying clients to come to "meetings" dominated by those who come just to disrupt.

The entire purpose of the bully was to derail your efforts. I cannot allow that to happen. March forward brothers and sisters. Your mission is way too important.


Donald Nathan


In a message dated 11/17/2007 9:15:25 P.M. Central Standard Time, tang11111@hotmail.com writes:

YT:Hello, everyone,

Thanks all for coming today. Our next meeting is going to be on December 15 (Saturday), 2:30 p.m. at

Dominick's-Canal Street #1147
1340 South Canal Street
Chicago, Illinois 60607

The purpose of the meeting will be the same as today, to focus on how to find a way to work together peacefully.

Shall there be a ground rules for the meeting next time?

Your feed-backs and comments are welcome here!

Thanks again for your participations!


Yi Tang

THIS IS DONALD NATHAN REPLYING TO WOLF WEISS 11/18/07:

DN:Thanks for the chuckle and a bit of education.


DSN


In a message dated 11/18/2007 2:08:55 P.M. Central Standard Time, zybarwulf@comcast.net writes:

WW:Another spelling error! Gosh darn it.

George's last name is (correctly) spelled L U T F A L L A H.

Not L U F T A L L A H. And, no, not L U F T W A F F E (which is not related to current Nazis, German or otherwise, but is the name of the current German Air Force. L U F T W A F F E means "Air Force").

L U T F A L L A H means "Kindness of God." Beautiful thought. But the shoe don't fit, George.

I for one, do not think George is a Nazi, even though he tends to act like an old WW2 storm trooper* with his words and deeds.

Here, in a nut shell, is the general consensus of what people think of George Lutfallah, the Kindness of God, as eloquently stated by several fellow drivers and herein digested into a single statement:

"Based on recent events, (I) think of George as a "girly man" who is too easily affected by rhetorical repartee and one who likes to take offense and screaming (like a little girl) about badmouthing and name calling."

"This is intentionally done by him to deflect us from the issues."

"There are serious issues which need to discussed and resolved. George is making sure we don't have serious discussions or develop reasonable resolutions to the problems."

"He is one of the problems. The sooner drivers get this, the sooner we can make real progress."

"[George's] so-called newspaper is really just a trade jounal for the owners of the big fleets and for the City. He does not fool me."

"Whoever called him an 'attack dog' is perfectly right to do so. It's not the name, it's the connotation that counts."

"His own actions scream louder than his words."

"His words have brought much harm to his brothers and sisters."

-wolf-


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Sturmabteilung -- a member of the Nazi militia noted for brutality and violence; one who resembles or behaves like a member of the Nazi militia.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


PS: For you undereducated ones, if any, George's sir name and namesake has historical significance, even though George himself has none:

Lutf Allah (d. c. 1357/58) was the leader of the Sarbadars of Sabzewar from 1356 until his death.

Lutf Allah was the son of Wajih ad-Din Mas'ud, the second leader of the Sarbadars, and was considered by Mas'ud's adherents to be his legitimate successor. By the reign of Yahya Karawi he had come of age and Mas'ud's supporters were ready to install him as head of state. After the murder of Yahya in c. 1355 they attempted to seize control of the government. They were prevented from doing so by Haidar Qassib, who drove them from Sabzewar and killed many of them. The remaining members of Mas'ud's party fled to Esfarayen, where Lutf Allah's atabeg Nasr Allah rebelled against the central government. The situation for Lutf Allah improved when Haidar Qassib was murdered on the orders of Hasan Damghani. Hasan then had Lutf Allah proclaimed as formal sovereign of the Sarbadars.

Lutf Allah's reign was short and consisted mostly of him acting as a figurehead for Hasan Damghani. During this time Astarabad was lost to Amir Vali. After a few years Lutf Allah got into a disagreement with Hasan Damghani, who deposed and executed him and then took formal control of the state. With Lutf Allah's death the party of Mas'ud was mostly broken.

(Geeorge may have delusions of grandeur due to this.)


----- Original Message -----
From: Wolfgang J. Weiss
To: Peter Zelchenko ; Yi Tang ; Daniel James Szekely ; Diane Santucci ; Prateek Sampat ; Salem Qureshi ; Ifti Nasim ; A. Malik Mujahid ; Naim Mansour ; Fayez Khozindar ; Raja L. Khan ; Rima N. Kapitan ; Mike Foulks ; Bhairavi Desai ; Melissa Callahan ; Farad Al-Taqi
Cc: Steve C. Watts
Sent: Sunday, November 18, 2007 12:08 PM
Subject: Fw: Trained Attack Dog Invades Kabaob Corner


WW:Read it and weep - or laugh - folks.

This one is for the Annals of Taxi History....

Or is it for the Annals of Fools?

---Wolfgang J. Weiss---

Mr. Nathan,

Are you still "chuckling" about this?

Any comments?

-Mike Foulks

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

THIS IS DONALD NATHAN REPLYING TO WOLF WEISS 11/18/07:

DN:Thanks for the chuckle and a bit of education.


DSN


In a message dated 11/18/2007 2:08:55 P.M. Central Standard Time, zybarwulf@comcast.net writes:

WW:Another spelling error! Gosh darn it.

George's last name is (correctly) spelled L U T F A L L A H.

Not L U F T A L L A H. And, no, not L U F T W A F F E (which is not related to current Nazis, German or otherwise, but is the name of the current German Air Force. L U F T W A F F E means "Air Force").

L U T F A L L A H means "Kindness of God." Beautiful thought. But the shoe don't fit, George.

I for one, do not think George is a Nazi, even though he tends to act like an old WW2 storm trooper* with his words and deeds.

Here, in a nut shell, is the general consensus of what people think of George Lutfallah, the Kindness of God, as eloquently stated by several fellow drivers and herein digested into a single statement:

"Based on recent events, (I) think of George as a "girly man" who is too easily affected by rhetorical repartee and one who likes to take offense and screaming (like a little girl) about badmouthing and name calling."

"This is intentionally done by him to deflect us from the issues."

"There are serious issues which need to discussed and resolved. George is making sure we don't have serious discussions or develop reasonable resolutions to the problems."

"He is one of the problems. The sooner drivers get this, the sooner we can make real progress."

"[George's] so-called newspaper is really just a trade jounal for the owners of the big fleets and for the City. He does not fool me."

"Whoever called him an 'attack dog' is perfectly right to do so. It's not the name, it's the connotation that counts."

"His own actions scream louder than his words."

"His words have brought much harm to his brothers and sisters."

-wolf-


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Sturmabteilung -- a member of the Nazi militia noted for brutality and violence; one who resembles or behaves like a member of the Nazi militia.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


PS: For you undereducated ones, if any, George's sir name and namesake has historical significance, even though George himself has none:

Lutf Allah (d. c. 1357/5 was the leader of the Sarbadars of Sabzewar from 1356 until his death.

Lutf Allah was the son of Wajih ad-Din Mas'ud, the second leader of the Sarbadars, and was considered by Mas'ud's adherents to be his legitimate successor. By the reign of Yahya Karawi he had come of age and Mas'ud's supporters were ready to install him as head of state. After the murder of Yahya in c. 1355 they attempted to seize control of the government. They were prevented from doing so by Haidar Qassib, who drove them from Sabzewar and killed many of them. The remaining members of Mas'ud's party fled to Esfarayen, where Lutf Allah's atabeg Nasr Allah rebelled against the central government. The situation for Lutf Allah improved when Haidar Qassib was murdered on the orders of Hasan Damghani. Hasan then had Lutf Allah proclaimed as formal sovereign of the Sarbadars.

Lutf Allah's reign was short and consisted mostly of him acting as a figurehead for Hasan Damghani. During this time Astarabad was lost to Amir Vali. After a few years Lutf Allah got into a disagreement with Hasan Damghani, who deposed and executed him and then took formal control of the state. With Lutf Allah's death the party of Mas'ud was mostly broken.

(Geeorge may have delusions of grandeur due to this.)


----- Original Message -----
From: Wolfgang J. Weiss
To: Peter Zelchenko ; Yi Tang ; Daniel James Szekely ; Diane Santucci ; Prateek Sampat ; Salem Qureshi ; Ifti Nasim ; A. Malik Mujahid ; Naim Mansour ; Fayez Khozindar ; Raja L. Khan ; Rima N. Kapitan ; Mike Foulks ; Bhairavi Desai ; Melissa Callahan ; Farad Al-Taqi
Cc: Steve C. Watts
Sent: Sunday, November 18, 2007 12:08 PM
Subject: Fw: Trained Attack Dog Invades Kabaob Corner


WW:Read it and weep - or laugh - folks.

This one is for the Annals of Taxi History....

Or is it for the Annals of Fools?

---Wolfgang J. Weiss---

THIS IS DONALD NATHAN REPLYING TO GEORGE LUTFALLAH 11/18/07:

GL:Mr. Tang wrote: "Can we get over with it?"

No. That wasn't the first time your partner Donald Nathan referred to me as a Nazi.

DN:I speak for myself, son. I do not speak for Yi Tang, nor does he for me. I need no defense by him from a rabid dog.

GL:After that I came to your meeting last month. I extended myself, even after being called a Nazi, which I take immense offense to.

DN:Quacks like a duck ...

GL:And what do I get? I'm referred to as a Nazi again.

DN:Quack, woof, woof, woof.

GL:Remember that this is the same Donald Nathan who has repeatedly tried to play himself off as a man with "no axe to grind."

DN:I still have no axe to grind - I didn't come to disrupt that meeting. I came to host it.


GL:My willingness to work with any group that involves Donald Nathan has passed.

DN:You, sir, are a solipsist, a self-focused bully.

I am not part of any group and care not to be. I am available for consultation without charge for groups that seek it - pro bono publico. I am not paid for grinding axes by the fleet owners like you are.

You need the work. I don't. All recognize you for what you are.

GL:Do you understand that or do I need to spoon feed it to you?

DN:You need to take that spoon, fold it up five ways and deposit it where the moon doesn't shine.

Mr. Nathan,

Any comments?

-Mike Foulks

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

THIS IS DONALD NATHAN REPLYING TO GEORGE LUTFALLAH 11/18/07:

GL:Mr. Tang wrote: "Can we get over with it?"

No. That wasn't the first time your partner Donald Nathan referred to me as a Nazi.

DN:I speak for myself, son. I do not speak for Yi Tang, nor does he for me. I need no defense by him from a rabid dog.

GL:After that I came to your meeting last month. I extended myself, even after being called a Nazi, which I take immense offense to.

DN:Quacks like a duck ...

GL:And what do I get? I'm referred to as a Nazi again.

DN:Quack, woof, woof, woof.

GL:Remember that this is the same Donald Nathan who has repeatedly tried to play himself off as a man with "no axe to grind."

DN:I still have no axe to grind - I didn't come to disrupt that meeting. I came to host it.


GL:My willingness to work with any group that involves Donald Nathan has passed.

DN:You, sir, are a solipsist, a self-focused bully.

I am not part of any group and care not to be. I am available for consultation without charge for groups that seek it - pro bono publico. I am not paid for grinding axes by the fleet owners like you are.

You need the work. I don't. All recognize you for what you are.

GL o you understand that or do I need to spoon feed it to you?

DN:You need to take that spoon, fold it up five ways and deposit it where the moon doesn't shine.

THIS IS DONALD NATHAN REPLYING TO GEORGE LUTFALLAH/YI TANG, also on 11/17/07 III:

GL:Mr. Tang,

Thank you for inviting me to your meeting. I don't want to waste my time again like I did at your last meeting. Only one full-time taxi driver attended and the discussion was more about badmouthing and discussing people who weren't in attendence than discussing issues. Thus I won't be attending but I do appreciate the invitation.

Regards,
George Lutfallah
George:

DN:I owe you an apology. I like to think I am man enough to admit when I am wrong. I have no doubt but that my use of a *******ization of your name was uncalled for. If you are man enough, you are going to be willing to forgive my indiscretion. Having used that epithet in a private e-mail to Yi Tang, Wolfgang Weiss and Prakeet Sampat, I made a mistake. My judgment is usually better than that.

It is unfortunate that one of the recipients of that e-mail forwarded it on to a third party who is going to go unnamed. That third party forwarded it on to you. Your anger was justified. I humble myself and ask your forgiveness.

You will never call me a coward, however, and expect to get away with it. If your purpose in bursting into that meeting was to derail it - and it may well have been with booming voice and bully like tactic - then Bhairavi Desai was right in her assessment of you expressed in the e-mail that was attached to the chain you were sent. I do hope it was not just your motive to disrupt efforts to organize cab drivers. Perhaps that is for the others to assess.

When you break into a peaceful meeting with stentorian insults directed at me, you need to appreciate that you are only going to get the kind of welcome any ex-Marine gives by way of instinct. I may be double your age, but you are never going to manhandle me like a thug without a response in kind. I apologize for the use of an inappropriate epithet, but you did come into that meeting in just the same way Brownshirts burst into meetings back in the early '30's somewhere well to the east of New York.

If you don't want to be called names, watch the way you conduct yourself. I will do my best to button my lip and to accord you the respect you deserve.


Yours truly,



Donald Nathan, Esq.

Mr. Nathan,

Could you give us a better explanation? We need one.

You call George Lutfallah names behind his back in e-mails to Yi Tang, Wolf Wiess, and Prateek Sampat, right?

He finds out and gets angry about this, right?

He confronts you at Kabob Corner, right?

You apologize, but then you suggest he confronted you because he "wanted to break up a peaceful meeting?

I don't understand your logic.

Are you sure you're taking responsibility for your immature insults towards George Lutfallah?

Why then, would you try to explain his reaction as something else?

Was any of this a "trick" you and Yi Tang planned?

-Mike Foulks

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

THIS IS DONALD NATHAN REPLYING TO GEORGE LUTFALLAH/YI TANG, also on 11/17/07 III:

GL:Mr. Tang,

Thank you for inviting me to your meeting. I don't want to waste my time again like I did at your last meeting. Only one full-time taxi driver attended and the discussion was more about badmouthing and discussing people who weren't in attendence than discussing issues. Thus I won't be attending but I do appreciate the invitation.

Regards,
George Lutfallah
George:

DN:I owe you an apology. I like to think I am man enough to admit when I am wrong. I have no doubt but that my use of a *******ization of your name was uncalled for. If you are man enough, you are going to be willing to forgive my indiscretion. Having used that epithet in a private e-mail to Yi Tang, Wolfgang Weiss and Prakeet Sampat, I made a mistake. My judgment is usually better than that.

It is unfortunate that one of the recipients of that e-mail forwarded it on to a third party who is going to go unnamed. That third party forwarded it on to you. Your anger was justified. I humble myself and ask your forgiveness.

You will never call me a coward, however, and expect to get away with it. If your purpose in bursting into that meeting was to derail it - and it may well have been with booming voice and bully like tactic - then Bhairavi Desai was right in her assessment of you expressed in the e-mail that was attached to the chain you were sent. I do hope it was not just your motive to disrupt efforts to organize cab drivers. Perhaps that is for the others to assess.

When you break into a peaceful meeting with stentorian insults directed at me, you need to appreciate that you are only going to get the kind of welcome any ex-Marine gives by way of instinct. I may be double your age, but you are never going to manhandle me like a thug without a response in kind. I apologize for the use of an inappropriate epithet, but you did come into that meeting in just the same way Brownshirts burst into meetings back in the early '30's somewhere well to the east of New York.

If you don't want to be called names, watch the way you conduct yourself. I will do my best to button my lip and to accord you the respect you deserve.


Yours truly,



Donald Nathan, Esq.

THIS IS DONALD NATHAN REPLYING TO GEORGE LUTFALLAH ALSO ON 11/17/07 II:

YT?:It will have two there for sure George, Me and Mr. Nathan.

YT?:Don you think that we cannot meet?

DN:I know we can meet and that we will meet. If George Lutfallah thinks it's a waste of his precious time, let him understand that I could be doing some other work that I bill at $250 per hour instead.

My commitment to the taxi industry is not profit based. I don't depend on revenue from Flash or AUCA or Globe or the like to get by. If Mr. Lutfallah is sincerely interested in making the lives of our brothers and sisters a little better, he'll come. If he's just in it for th e almighty buck and doesn't give a ****, he'll play attack dog and respond in a vicious way - even more so than his first e-mail of this afternoon.

Regardless of who shows up to discuss ISSUES, I will be there along with you. We will make some sort of progress, however much or little I do not really care.


Donald Nathan

Mr. Nathan,

Why did you threaten to quit helping or suggest that you might not give cabdrivers your "$250 per hour legal advice" for free if George Lutfallah wouldn't attend your meetings?

-Mike Foulks

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

THIS IS DONALD NATHAN REPLYING TO GEORGE LUTFALLAH ALSO ON 11/17/07 II:

YT?:It will have two there for sure George, Me and Mr. Nathan.

YT? on you think that we cannot meet?

DN:I know we can meet and that we will meet. If George Lutfallah thinks it's a waste of his precious time, let him understand that I could be doing some other work that I bill at $250 per hour instead.

My commitment to the taxi industry is not profit based. I don't depend on revenue from Flash or AUCA or Globe or the like to get by. If Mr. Lutfallah is sincerely interested in making the lives of our brothers and sisters a little better, he'll come. If he's just in it for th e almighty buck and doesn't give a ****, he'll play attack dog and respond in a vicious way - even more so than his first e-mail of this afternoon.

Regardless of who shows up to discuss ISSUES, I will be there along with you. We will make some sort of progress, however much or little I do not really care.


Donald Nathan

GL:Will it matter if anyone shows up?

Regards,
George Lutfallah
Chicago Dispatcher

DN:George ~~~ You won't know unless you come. Of course, if it's a waste of time, you can report it as such. Maybe it will be, but your failure to attend is not going to derail efforts drivers make in the Chicago Metro area to better their lives. We - Yi Tang and I, that is - aren't in this for profit.


Donald Nathan

THIS IS DONALD NATHAN REPLYING TO GEORGE LUTFALLAH'S REPLY TO YI TANG ON 11/17/07:

GL:Mr. Tang,

Thank you for inviting me to your meeting. I don't want to waste my time again like I did at your last meeting. Only one full-time taxi driver attended

DN:It occurs to me, Mr. Lutfallah, that you too are not a "full-time taxi driver". I do believe that you still have valuable things to say, and your opinions are respected.

GL:and the discussion was more about badmouthing and discussing people who weren't in attendence {sic} than discussing issues.

DN:The attendance was missing some important people, but without you there, it would be far less fruitful a meeting. I do hope your reportage will not be colored by your evident distain for those who give a **** about those who do not pay for advertising in a trade rag to get along in life.

Hopefully we can get to more "issues" today. Pity it is that you won't be there to report on it. But then I guess you feel the taxi press should only cover other matters, and the editorial policy that gets paid for by the fleet owners is set by you, not us.

GL:Thus I won't be attending but I do appreciate the invitation.

DN:You are invited to the next meeting -- who knows, you might seize the day and come in spite of the fact that you regard our efforts as a waste of your time.

GL:Regards,
George Lutfallah
Regards back, sir.


Donald Nathan

Mr. Nathan,

Why did you want George Lutfallah to attend any of your meetings?

-Mike Foulks

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

THIS IS DONALD NATHAN REPLYING TO GEORGE LUTFALLAH'S REPLY TO YI TANG ON 11/17/07:

GL:Mr. Tang,

Thank you for inviting me to your meeting. I don't want to waste my time again like I did at your last meeting. Only one full-time taxi driver attended

DN:It occurs to me, Mr. Lutfallah, that you too are not a "full-time taxi driver". I do believe that you still have valuable things to say, and your opinions are respected.

GL:and the discussion was more about badmouthing and discussing people who weren't in attendence {sic} than discussing issues.

DN:The attendance was missing some important people, but without you there, it would be far less fruitful a meeting. I do hope your reportage will not be colored by your evident distain for those who give a **** about those who do not pay for advertising in a trade rag to get along in life.

Hopefully we can get to more "issues" today. Pity it is that you won't be there to report on it. But then I guess you feel the taxi press should only cover other matters, and the editorial policy that gets paid for by the fleet owners is set by you, not us.

GL:Thus I won't be attending but I do appreciate the invitation.

DN:You are invited to the next meeting -- who knows, you might seize the day and come in spite of the fact that you regard our efforts as a waste of your time.

GL:Regards,
George Lutfallah
Regards back, sir.


Donald Nathan

THIS IS YI TANG ON 11/14/07:

YT:Hello, everyone!

Mr. Nathan and I are going to host our third monthly meeting at Kabob Corner, 760 W. Jackson, on this Saturday (November 17), at 2:30 p.m.. If you missed our last meeting, I wish that you are going to make it this time.

I wish that this forum would be kept open for everyone, and

Thanks all for your participations!

Yi Tang

Yi Tang (or partner Donald Nathan),

Why did you choose Kabob Corner for the site of this meeting, a half an hour before I was known to be arriving there?

Does either of you care to describe this meeting?

How about posting some of the e-mails which led up to and shortly after this meeting?

-Mike Foulks

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

THIS IS YI TANG ON 11/14/07:

YT:Hello, everyone!

Mr. Nathan and I are going to host our third monthly meeting at Kabob Corner, 760 W. Jackson, on this Saturday (November 17), at 2:30 p.m.. If you missed our last meeting, I wish that you are going to make it this time.

I wish that this forum would be kept open for everyone, and

Thanks all for your participations!

Yi Tang

THIS IS DONALD NATHAN REPLYING TO MIKE FOULKS, ALSO ON 11/14/07:

DN:Gee --- I guess I'm an outsider again. As far as I know, I don't have a drop of Muslim blood, but I sure sympathize with these distant cousins of mine. Does being 3/8 Jewish help? I'm a child of Abraham too. Just the same, I'd volunteer time to help this group in a heartbeat if allowed.


Donald Nathan


In a message dated 11/14/2007 12:11:30 A.M. Central Standard Time, zybarwulf@comcast.net writes:
From The Muslim Limo and Taxi Driver's Association Handout:

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

On Thursday, November 1st 2007, we had our first meeting with the city's officials concerning the parking tickets we received while praying. From the city's side, there was Commissioner of the consumer service, N. Reyes and her assistant plus three officials from the Department of Aviation, three from the City of Chicago's Human Relations, one
from the City of Chicago's Arab Affair Committee, and one more from the Law Department from the City of Chicago.

From the driver's side there were six members, including Dr. Sattar, the president of the Muslim Community Center of Chicago.

This meeting tasted two hours, during which good and frank exchange of ideas about how we can reach a satisfactory conclusion, and both sides expressed their interest and insistent on keeping the flow of the cabs to the terminals free from all obstacles or blocking. Therefore, we urge all drivers not to park around the shelters, and keep the short-trip lane clear from all parking cabs.

Brothers; To follow with this endeavor with the city of Chicago, we have to organize ourselves, since we represent 65% of the driving force, and we must expand our steering committee. Therefore we need one representative and one alternative from each ethnic group, as a first step towards the establishment of 'The Muslim Limo and Taxi Driver's Association" so we can defend our legitimate interest in the long run. I urge all the groups to discuss this matter among themselves and when you finish your caucus and choose your representative and your alternative. Please be free to call and report your choices by calling this number: 312-343-5831. Wasalaamu-alaykum.

Mr. Nathan,

Why were you mocking my position on not allowing people who aren't current Chicago cabdrivers into a group of current Chicago cabdrivers? Gee, I wonder why.

Why are you so ignorant of your Muslim "cousins"? Are you so ignorant of and out of touch with current Chicago cabdrivers that you don't understand that Islam is a RELIGION and not a RACE? What does "bloodlines" have to do with it?

Didn't you earlier say that you weren't "Asian or Jewish"? Why are you suddenly claiming to be "3/8 Jewish"?

Did you ever approach the organizers of this group and offer your "free legal advice"?

-Mike Foulks

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

THIS IS DONALD NATHAN REPLYING TO MIKE FOULKS, ALSO ON 11/14/07:

DN:Gee --- I guess I'm an outsider again. As far as I know, I don't have a drop of Muslim blood, but I sure sympathize with these distant cousins of mine. Does being 3/8 Jewish help? I'm a child of Abraham too. Just the same, I'd volunteer time to help this group in a heartbeat if allowed.


Donald Nathan


In a message dated 11/14/2007 12:11:30 A.M. Central Standard Time, zybarwulf@comcast.net writes:
From The Muslim Limo and Taxi Driver's Association Handout:

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

On Thursday, November 1st 2007, we had our first meeting with the city's officials concerning the parking tickets we received while praying. From the city's side, there was Commissioner of the consumer service, N. Reyes and her assistant plus three officials from the Department of Aviation, three from the City of Chicago's Human Relations, one
from the City of Chicago's Arab Affair Committee, and one more from the Law Department from the City of Chicago.

From the driver's side there were six members, including Dr. Sattar, the president of the Muslim Community Center of Chicago.

This meeting tasted two hours, during which good and frank exchange of ideas about how we can reach a satisfactory conclusion, and both sides expressed their interest and insistent on keeping the flow of the cabs to the terminals free from all obstacles or blocking. Therefore, we urge all drivers not to park around the shelters, and keep the short-trip lane clear from all parking cabs.

Brothers; To follow with this endeavor with the city of Chicago, we have to organize ourselves, since we represent 65% of the driving force, and we must expand our steering committee. Therefore we need one representative and one alternative from each ethnic group, as a first step towards the establishment of 'The Muslim Limo and Taxi Driver's Association" so we can defend our legitimate interest in the long run. I urge all the groups to discuss this matter among themselves and when you finish your caucus and choose your representative and your alternative. Please be free to call and report your choices by calling this number: 312-343-5831. Wasalaamu-alaykum.

THIS IS DONALD NATHAN REPLYING TO MIKE FOULKS 11/14/07:

MF:I've gotten drunk in the same bar as Steve, though I'm sure it would take an effort to get him to remember me considering how long ago that was.

DN:I went to junior high and high school with Michael Douglas. He was the quarterback on the junior high football team. I was just a tackle, but at our 40th reunion he still remembered me. I haven't a clue who "Steve" might be, but perhaps there are famous ones whose last names I can't recall.

MF:I think we attended the same high school but during different years.

DN:I sat in history classes in college with Carol Mosley Braun, but she would have no memory of me.

MF:I am maintaining a regular presence at Kabob Corner in Greektown from 3pm-4pm everyday until our CCO election on the 21st.

DN:I am aware of this daily event - a good idea for organizing, and it's at a good time for the restaurant if it draws business in.

MF:I think that Wednesday is now out of the running, but perhaps John and I can agree to meet you for an informal dinner at 5pm or so near your house, or an earlier one here near Greektown.

DN:I'm happy to meet you at 5:00 P.M. today near here, but not for a dinner. It's just too early for me to eat. I have a conference room where we can get together if you like. I'm just to the north of Roosevelt, just to the south of Butterfield, just to the east of Route 83, just to the west of York Road. It's One Elm Creek Drive. If you do want to meet, call me at 1-888-NATHAN-1 and leave a message on the voice mail.

MF:I didn't quite understand if your dinner with your daughters is blocking out just Wednesday or everyday.

DN:I have three daughters, but only one lives in Chicago. We're getting together on Friday night for dinner, and likely it will be in Greektown because she lives not far from there. I get together with her about once a month, not that it should matter to you particularly what my personal family schedule is. I only mentioned it because I wouldn't have been able to meet with you on Friday. Tomorrow, I'm off to the opera; I couldn't meet with you on Thursday. You wanted to meet before Saturday's meeting, so I was just giving you my availability.

Mr. Nathan,

You claimed that you recognized your clients by their first names a few days earlier, mention Steve Lauria, but when I refer to him a "Steve", you don't know who I'm referring to?

Do you have problems with your memory associated with your advanced age, Mr. Nathan?

Is Steve Lauria still a client of yours?

-Mike Foulks

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

THIS IS DONALD NATHAN REPLYING TO MIKE FOULKS 11/14/07:

MF:I've gotten drunk in the same bar as Steve, though I'm sure it would take an effort to get him to remember me considering how long ago that was.

DN:I went to junior high and high school with Michael Douglas. He was the quarterback on the junior high football team. I was just a tackle, but at our 40th reunion he still remembered me. I haven't a clue who "Steve" might be, but perhaps there are famous ones whose last names I can't recall.

MF:I think we attended the same high school but during different years.

DN:I sat in history classes in college with Carol Mosley Braun, but she would have no memory of me.

MF:I am maintaining a regular presence at Kabob Corner in Greektown from 3pm-4pm everyday until our CCO election on the 21st.

DN:I am aware of this daily event - a good idea for organizing, and it's at a good time for the restaurant if it draws business in.

MF:I think that Wednesday is now out of the running, but perhaps John and I can agree to meet you for an informal dinner at 5pm or so near your house, or an earlier one here near Greektown.

DN:I'm happy to meet you at 5:00 P.M. today near here, but not for a dinner. It's just too early for me to eat. I have a conference room where we can get together if you like. I'm just to the north of Roosevelt, just to the south of Butterfield, just to the east of Route 83, just to the west of York Road. It's One Elm Creek Drive. If you do want to meet, call me at 1-888-NATHAN-1 and leave a message on the voice mail.

MF:I didn't quite understand if your dinner with your daughters is blocking out just Wednesday or everyday.

DN:I have three daughters, but only one lives in Chicago. We're getting together on Friday night for dinner, and likely it will be in Greektown because she lives not far from there. I get together with her about once a month, not that it should matter to you particularly what my personal family schedule is. I only mentioned it because I wouldn't have been able to meet with you on Friday. Tomorrow, I'm off to the opera; I couldn't meet with you on Thursday. You wanted to meet before Saturday's meeting, so I was just giving you my availability.

THIS IS DONALD NATHAN REPLYING TO MIKE FOULKS 11/12/07:

MF:I'll communicate with John Rees.

DN:I'm somewhat acquainted with Rees, although it's indirect. The Party Cab, #3877, is owned by Luxor, Inc. I represent Steve Lauria, the owns of the company behind that medallion. I need to make that disclosure to both you and Rees. My professional tie to Lauria is in respect to the collection of property damage, and I have worked for his various corporations for about 15 years. I see no conflict of interest between Rees and any of Lauria's corporations or with Lauria.

MF:I think we would like to meet you before Saturday (in the afternoon- how about Wednesday, maybe at 7PM?) because the conversation might be a bit lenghtier and more productive than you might think.

DN:7:00 P.M. may be the afternoon for you, but not for me. I expect to be having dinner with one of my daughters at about that time. If you would like to get together at about 3:00 P.M. or at 11:00 A.M., I can budget a sufficient amount of time to give to you both.

DN:Rees is a very motivated individual beyond the personal issues with the "Party Cab" and we are not joined at the hip in our opinions, but we've found mutual respect for discussing our differences and have influenced each other's changing attitudes towards the entirety of this organizing effort. I want to make clear my "insider/outsider" postion clear...it has caused people to put words in my mouth or attribute opinions to me which I have not expressed...the decison-making on what drivers want should be entirely from the drivers... of course we would engage "outsiders" when the need is clearly defined by the "insiders". I want to discuss more with you about the incongruity of joining suburban, city, and limo drivers underneath one aegis.

-MIKE FOULKS

DN:Let me hear from you.


Don Nathan

THIS IS DONALD NATHAN REPLYING TO MIKE FOULKS 11/12/07:

CORRECTION: (MF:Rees is a very motivated, not DN:)

MF:I'll communicate with John Rees.

DN:I'm somewhat acquainted with Rees, although it's indirect. The Party Cab, #3877, is owned by Luxor, Inc. I represent Steve Lauria, the owns of the company behind that medallion. I need to make that disclosure to both you and Rees. My professional tie to Lauria is in respect to the collection of property damage, and I have worked for his various corporations for about 15 years. I see no conflict of interest between Rees and any of Lauria's corporations or with Lauria.

MF:I think we would like to meet you before Saturday (in the afternoon- how about Wednesday, maybe at 7PM?) because the conversation might be a bit lenghtier and more productive than you might think.

MF:7:00 P.M. may be the afternoon for you, but not for me. I expect to be having dinner with one of my daughters at about that time. If you would like to get together at about 3:00 P.M. or at 11:00 A.M., I can budget a sufficient amount of time to give to you both.

DN:Rees is a very motivated individual beyond the personal issues with the "Party Cab" and we are not joined at the hip in our opinions, but we've found mutual respect for discussing our differences and have influenced each other's changing attitudes towards the entirety of this organizing effort. I want to make clear my "insider/outsider" postion clear...it has caused people to put words in my mouth or attribute opinions to me which I have not expressed...the decison-making on what drivers want should be entirely from the drivers... of course we would engage "outsiders" when the need is clearly defined by the "insiders". I want to discuss more with you about the incongruity of joining suburban, city, and limo drivers underneath one aegis.

-MIKE FOULKS

DN:Let me hear from you.


Don Nathan

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

THIS IS DONALD NATHAN REPLYING TO MIKE FOULKS 11/12/07:

MF:I'll communicate with John Rees.

DN:I'm somewhat acquainted with Rees, although it's indirect. The Party Cab, #3877, is owned by Luxor, Inc. I represent Steve Lauria, the owns of the company behind that medallion. I need to make that disclosure to both you and Rees. My professional tie to Lauria is in respect to the collection of property damage, and I have worked for his various corporations for about 15 years. I see no conflict of interest between Rees and any of Lauria's corporations or with Lauria.

MF:I think we would like to meet you before Saturday (in the afternoon- how about Wednesday, maybe at 7PM?) because the conversation might be a bit lenghtier and more productive than you might think.

DN:7:00 P.M. may be the afternoon for you, but not for me. I expect to be having dinner with one of my daughters at about that time. If you would like to get together at about 3:00 P.M. or at 11:00 A.M., I can budget a sufficient amount of time to give to you both.

DN:Rees is a very motivated individual beyond the personal issues with the "Party Cab" and we are not joined at the hip in our opinions, but we've found mutual respect for discussing our differences and have influenced each other's changing attitudes towards the entirety of this organizing effort. I want to make clear my "insider/outsider" postion clear...it has caused people to put words in my mouth or attribute opinions to me which I have not expressed...the decison-making on what drivers want should be entirely from the drivers... of course we would engage "outsiders" when the need is clearly defined by the "insiders". I want to discuss more with you about the incongruity of joining suburban, city, and limo drivers underneath one aegis.

-MIKE FOULKS

DN:Let me hear from you.


Don Nathan

Mr. Nathan,

You didn't see any conlict of interest between John Rees who you imagined giving legal advice to about organizing a cabdriver "Union" while you were representing Steve Lauria, the owner of the medallion and cab he was driving?

How convenient for you.

-Mike Foulks

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

THIS IS DONALD NATHAN REPLYING TO MIKE FOULKS 11/12/07:

CORRECTION MF:Rees is a very motivated, not DN

MF:I'll communicate with John Rees.

DN:I'm somewhat acquainted with Rees, although it's indirect. The Party Cab, #3877, is owned by Luxor, Inc. I represent Steve Lauria, the owns of the company behind that medallion. I need to make that disclosure to both you and Rees. My professional tie to Lauria is in respect to the collection of property damage, and I have worked for his various corporations for about 15 years. I see no conflict of interest between Rees and any of Lauria's corporations or with Lauria.

MF:I think we would like to meet you before Saturday (in the afternoon- how about Wednesday, maybe at 7PM?) because the conversation might be a bit lenghtier and more productive than you might think.

MF:7:00 P.M. may be the afternoon for you, but not for me. I expect to be having dinner with one of my daughters at about that time. If you would like to get together at about 3:00 P.M. or at 11:00 A.M., I can budget a sufficient amount of time to give to you both.

DN:Rees is a very motivated individual beyond the personal issues with the "Party Cab" and we are not joined at the hip in our opinions, but we've found mutual respect for discussing our differences and have influenced each other's changing attitudes towards the entirety of this organizing effort. I want to make clear my "insider/outsider" postion clear...it has caused people to put words in my mouth or attribute opinions to me which I have not expressed...the decison-making on what drivers want should be entirely from the drivers... of course we would engage "outsiders" when the need is clearly defined by the "insiders". I want to discuss more with you about the incongruity of joining suburban, city, and limo drivers underneath one aegis.

-MIKE FOULKS

DN:Let me hear from you.


Don Nathan

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

THIS IS DONALD NATHAN REPLYING TO MIKE FOULKS 11/12/07:

MF:I'll communicate with John Rees.

DN:I'm somewhat acquainted with Rees, although it's indirect. The Party Cab, #3877, is owned by Luxor, Inc. I represent Steve Lauria, the owns of the company behind that medallion. I need to make that disclosure to both you and Rees. My professional tie to Lauria is in respect to the collection of property damage, and I have worked for his various corporations for about 15 years. I see no conflict of interest between Rees and any of Lauria's corporations or with Lauria.

MF:I think we would like to meet you before Saturday (in the afternoon- how about Wednesday, maybe at 7PM?) because the conversation might be a bit lenghtier and more productive than you might think.

DN:7:00 P.M. may be the afternoon for you, but not for me. I expect to be having dinner with one of my daughters at about that time. If you would like to get together at about 3:00 P.M. or at 11:00 A.M., I can budget a sufficient amount of time to give to you both.

DN:Rees is a very motivated individual beyond the personal issues with the "Party Cab" and we are not joined at the hip in our opinions, but we've found mutual respect for discussing our differences and have influenced each other's changing attitudes towards the entirety of this organizing effort. I want to make clear my "insider/outsider" postion clear...it has caused people to put words in my mouth or attribute opinions to me which I have not expressed...the decison-making on what drivers want should be entirely from the drivers... of course we would engage "outsiders" when the need is clearly defined by the "insiders". I want to discuss more with you about the incongruity of joining suburban, city, and limo drivers underneath one aegis.

-MIKE FOULKS

DN:Let me hear from you.


Don Nathan

THIS IS DONALD NATHAN REPLYING TO MIKE FOULKS 11/12/07:

MF:Any chance we could meet Monday 11/12 night or Tuesday 11/13 night? I'd like to introduce you to John Rees "Party Cabbie", who the City took unusual steps with to have him remove the decorations from the inside and outside of his cab.

DN:I wish we could meet, but I already have appointments booked for both evenings with clients in pending cases. I could meet with the two of you on Wednesday or Friday afternoon at your convenience as long as it's out in Elmhurst and anytime after 1:00 P.M. But it might be easiest for the two of you to get together next Saturday at the meeting Yi Tang and I are going to host somewhere downtown in the afternoon. I'd be happy to show up a little early for it to meet privately with the two of you if you like.

My understanding is that Rees has not been cited at all by DCS for anything to do with "The Party Cab". The Commissioner isn't stupid. The bigger question for Rees is whether he wants to take steps to deck his cab out again as it was with the blessing of law. If so, then consideration has to be paid as to do that most efficiently. If Rees would like to do that through court action, I am more than willing to donate time to accomplish that goal - the only cost to him would be the court filing fees. It's idiotic not to allow the man to drive a decorated cab as long as it presents no threat to safety - and it obviously doesn't.

If on the other hand, you and John Rees are planning on seeking legal advice as to how to go forward with an organization that excludes a significant number of local cab drivers, I think it inappropriate to meet separately. I fully expect the meeting of 11/17 to be attended by both "Insiders" and "Outsiders". As "Insiders" your participation would be invaluable. My time is made available both to "Insiders" and "Outsiders" where the issues concern all drivers in the Metro area: the need for fair meter rates in the City; the need for regulated rates that are not undercut in certain of the suburbs; group health insurance; hospital savings accounts; group disability coverage; pension programs; and whatever else would benefit ALL drivers and bring down group rates.

An organization that administers such programs can be of great use. With premiums that generate commissions, the organization can be self-sustaining without ripping off the drivers. Some people call this kind of organization a "Union".

You two may not be interested in such things - you may see this kind of organization as some sort of a rip-off that's no better than what now you have. But what do you have now? Do you have health insurance? Where do you go for medical care if you fall sick - suffer a heart attack or a stroke or, worse yet, have a cancer that befalls you at age 35 or 40. My first wife died of cancer at age 42. You don't know when that kind of disaster can hit. Want to go to Stroger Hospital or Oak Forest for your care?

These issues propel my interest along with winning people like John Rees the right to deck out his cab the way he likes. I do hope to meet with you whether with Rees or without.


Donald Nathan

Mr. Nathan,

Why did you "think it inappropriate to meet separately...if...(John Rees and I were) planning on seeking legal advice as how to go forward with an organization"?

What "significant number of local cabdrivers" did you perceive we intended to "exclude"?

-Mike Foulks

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

THIS IS DONALD NATHAN REPLYING TO MIKE FOULKS 11/12/07:

MF:Any chance we could meet Monday 11/12 night or Tuesday 11/13 night? I'd like to introduce you to John Rees "Party Cabbie", who the City took unusual steps with to have him remove the decorations from the inside and outside of his cab.

DN:I wish we could meet, but I already have appointments booked for both evenings with clients in pending cases. I could meet with the two of you on Wednesday or Friday afternoon at your convenience as long as it's out in Elmhurst and anytime after 1:00 P.M. But it might be easiest for the two of you to get together next Saturday at the meeting Yi Tang and I are going to host somewhere downtown in the afternoon. I'd be happy to show up a little early for it to meet privately with the two of you if you like.

My understanding is that Rees has not been cited at all by DCS for anything to do with "The Party Cab". The Commissioner isn't stupid. The bigger question for Rees is whether he wants to take steps to deck his cab out again as it was with the blessing of law. If so, then consideration has to be paid as to do that most efficiently. If Rees would like to do that through court action, I am more than willing to donate time to accomplish that goal - the only cost to him would be the court filing fees. It's idiotic not to allow the man to drive a decorated cab as long as it presents no threat to safety - and it obviously doesn't.

If on the other hand, you and John Rees are planning on seeking legal advice as to how to go forward with an organization that excludes a significant number of local cab drivers, I think it inappropriate to meet separately. I fully expect the meeting of 11/17 to be attended by both "Insiders" and "Outsiders". As "Insiders" your participation would be invaluable. My time is made available both to "Insiders" and "Outsiders" where the issues concern all drivers in the Metro area: the need for fair meter rates in the City; the need for regulated rates that are not undercut in certain of the suburbs; group health insurance; hospital savings accounts; group disability coverage; pension programs; and whatever else would benefit ALL drivers and bring down group rates.

An organization that administers such programs can be of great use. With premiums that generate commissions, the organization can be self-sustaining without ripping off the drivers. Some people call this kind of organization a "Union".

You two may not be interested in such things - you may see this kind of organization as some sort of a rip-off that's no better than what now you have. But what do you have now? Do you have health insurance? Where do you go for medical care if you fall sick - suffer a heart attack or a stroke or, worse yet, have a cancer that befalls you at age 35 or 40. My first wife died of cancer at age 42. You don't know when that kind of disaster can hit. Want to go to Stroger Hospital or Oak Forest for your care?

These issues propel my interest along with winning people like John Rees the right to deck out his cab the way he likes. I do hope to meet with you whether with Rees or without.


Donald Nathan

THIS IS DONALD NATHAN REPLYING TO MIKE FOULKS 11/06/07:

MF:I think that we could meet later in the evening one of these weekends at that Borders bookstore in Oak Brook just north of the mall just east of Rt. 83.

DN:Sure is convenient for me. It's about a mile from my apartment building. I can accommodate a group of about a dozen max in the lounge area of my building. I have access to a comfortable conference room that can accommodate about half a dozen to eight as well. I do have to make advance arrangements, but it's not difficult to do so. Coffee and tea is free here.

You want to meet at Borders? That's fine with me. Most people are willing to come out to Oak Brook or Elmhurst because they're centrally located and about 10 miles west of the city limits.

MF:Sorry I missed you in Skokie

DN:You sensitized me. I felt that as a non-cabdriver, and a non-resident of Skokie, I had no standing to speak and I thought under the circumstances I ought not to attend as an "outsider". As I understand it from Yi Tang, the meeting was well attended by those who do have a stake in the matter, and evidently it went well. There were plenty of articulate people there; my presence would not have contributed much, if anything.

The issue is an easy one to hit out of the park. Any ordinance like the one in question would be easy to challenge in court.

Don (Nathan)

Mr. Nathan,

Are you suggesting that the reason you didn't attend the hearing in Skokie was because I "sensitized" you?

Also, are you suggesting that the "victory" claimed by Prateek Sampat wasn't as powerful as he and the AFSC Two Project claimed responsibility for, but rather more about how "easy to hit out of the park...Any ordinance like the one in question would be easy to challenge in court."?

-Mike Foulks

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

THIS IS DONALD NATHAN REPLYING TO MIKE FOULKS 11/06/07:

MF:I think that we could meet later in the evening one of these weekends at that Borders bookstore in Oak Brook just north of the mall just east of Rt. 83.

DN:Sure is convenient for me. It's about a mile from my apartment building. I can accommodate a group of about a dozen max in the lounge area of my building. I have access to a comfortable conference room that can accommodate about half a dozen to eight as well. I do have to make advance arrangements, but it's not difficult to do so. Coffee and tea is free here.

You want to meet at Borders? That's fine with me. Most people are willing to come out to Oak Brook or Elmhurst because they're centrally located and about 10 miles west of the city limits.

MF:Sorry I missed you in Skokie

DN:You sensitized me. I felt that as a non-cabdriver, and a non-resident of Skokie, I had no standing to speak and I thought under the circumstances I ought not to attend as an "outsider". As I understand it from Yi Tang, the meeting was well attended by those who do have a stake in the matter, and evidently it went well. There were plenty of articulate people there; my presence would not have contributed much, if anything.

The issue is an easy one to hit out of the park. Any ordinance like the one in question would be easy to challenge in court.

Don (Nathan)

THIS IS DONALD NATHAN REPLYING TO MIKE FOULKS 11/04/07:

MF:Please let me continue to call you Mr. Nathan, but I wil stop if you insist...

DN:As I said before: I don't give a rat's patootie what you decide to call me. If it makes you more comfortable to be formal, do as you will, Mr. Foulks.

MF:I hope your Halloween was fun.

DN:It was. My boy was a black cat - we have a whole bunch of them in the house, so it was fitting. I was dressed as a cross between Alice Cooper (or a portly Howard Stern) and Groucho Marx. We had over 120 kids come to our door. My wife was dressed as a witch - as usual - with a ground fogger and cauldron full of candy in hand. We kind of go all out for "Le Jour des Mortes".

MF:It struck me that while the cabdrivers need a fare increase, the Republicans could use a FEAR increase, especially if Rudy is their guy.

DN:In a separate e-mail, I'm going to send you an op-ed run in the New York Times by Paul Krugman about that sonofabitch, Giuliani.

MF:I'm going to try to make it to the Skokie Village Hall for the discussion of the taxicab-parking ban up there. I've let Yi know that I'll likely be there.

DN:Date for this? I don't live in Skokie. I'm not even Asian or Jewish, but it rankles me that a guy who owns a car with a top light might not even park in his driveway, much less in the street at the curb while he sleeps a couple of hours. I would never offer my two cents directly, but I'd sure be happy to give off the cuff advice at a hearing if my schedule permits it. I'll be in town till the 21st.

MF:I would, of course, like to meet you there, but my focus would be more on the meeting than any business we would discuss.

DN:That would be no place to discuss any business other than the subject matter of the meeting.

MF:It would be better for me to plan to meet you at a more convenient place for you at a time when the need to get back in my cab and make some money would not be as pressing (such as one afternoon in the next few weeks.) I am planning to attend the November 17th meeting one way or the other, so I wouldn't stress about whether we actually meet before then or not. There is a long road ahead of all of us.

DN:That's the most sensible time to meet and discuss things at some leisure.


Don Nathan

Mr. Nathan,

What does that issue of parking cabs in Skokie have to do with being "Asian or Jewish" as you bring up?

By the way, you say here you're not "Asian or Jewish", but didn't you also say somewhere else you're 3/8 Jewish?

-Mike Foulks

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

THIS IS DONALD NATHAN REPLYING TO MIKE FOULKS 11/04/07:

MF lease let me continue to call you Mr. Nathan, but I wil stop if you insist...

DN:As I said before: I don't give a rat's patootie what you decide to call me. If it makes you more comfortable to be formal, do as you will, Mr. Foulks.

MF:I hope your Halloween was fun.

DN:It was. My boy was a black cat - we have a whole bunch of them in the house, so it was fitting. I was dressed as a cross between Alice Cooper (or a portly Howard Stern) and Groucho Marx. We had over 120 kids come to our door. My wife was dressed as a witch - as usual - with a ground fogger and cauldron full of candy in hand. We kind of go all out for "Le Jour des Mortes".

MF:It struck me that while the cabdrivers need a fare increase, the Republicans could use a FEAR increase, especially if Rudy is their guy.

DN:In a separate e-mail, I'm going to send you an op-ed run in the New York Times by Paul Krugman about that sonofabitch, Giuliani.

MF:I'm going to try to make it to the Skokie Village Hall for the discussion of the taxicab-parking ban up there. I've let Yi know that I'll likely be there.

DN ate for this? I don't live in Skokie. I'm not even Asian or Jewish, but it rankles me that a guy who owns a car with a top light might not even park in his driveway, much less in the street at the curb while he sleeps a couple of hours. I would never offer my two cents directly, but I'd sure be happy to give off the cuff advice at a hearing if my schedule permits it. I'll be in town till the 21st.

MF:I would, of course, like to meet you there, but my focus would be more on the meeting than any business we would discuss.

DN:That would be no place to discuss any business other than the subject matter of the meeting.

MF:It would be better for me to plan to meet you at a more convenient place for you at a time when the need to get back in my cab and make some money would not be as pressing (such as one afternoon in the next few weeks.) I am planning to attend the November 17th meeting one way or the other, so I wouldn't stress about whether we actually meet before then or not. There is a long road ahead of all of us.

DN:That's the most sensible time to meet and discuss things at some leisure.


Don Nathan

THIS IS DONALD NATHAN REPLYING TO MIKE FOULKS, ALSO ON 10/26/07:

MF:Okay, Don,

Since we have now firmly established the price, I'll sincerely try to respect the offer.

DN:Good.

MF:Can you give me any free legal advice regarding the advantages or, more importantly, the disadvantages of maintaining an organizing group as a 'voluntary, non-profit, unincorporated association' as opposed to a registered non-profit association? Keep in mind that the collection of money would not be an authorized group activity.

DN:Yes. My preference would be to do that in person, however. There are details I would want to get that might affect my opinion, and I find doing that on a piece by piece basis by way of e-mail to be grossly inefficient. i am leaving for San Jose on a flight tonight at 7:30 and won't be back until late on November 1 - my son, age 7, and I are going to "Trick or Treat" on Halloween which is of key import to me - have any kids? I've had five, and they remain the focus of my life. I'd suggest we get together on my return from California, and I'll be around from the 2nd to the 21st working 7 days a week.

MF:Separately, could you provide any basic, written structure to guide a chairperson and a committee conducting a meeting which would include discussion and voting? Both of these would be very helpful to me.

DN:I suppose I could - but "Roberts Rules of Order" is really an excellent resource, and I might design such a basic, written structure with the principles of this seminal work in front of me. Use of that guide doesn't have to be misused - abused.

MF:P.S. I've previously queried Tang about a meeting and I might want to do so before Nov. 17 if it becomes mutually convenient. I am too busy right now to even speculate as to when.

DN:Your schedule isn't the only one to consider. I do still have 70 cases pending all over Northern Illinois: Cook, Du Page, Lake, McHenry, Kane, Winnebago, Carroll, Whiteside, Henry and Rock Island counties and the U.S.D.C.N.D.Ill, both eastern and western divisions along with several matters in Fulton County, Georgia where I am also licensed to practice law.

MF:Perhaps you and he could suggest the where.

DN:On a weekend day, you might drive 16 miles directly west of the Loop to meet at my office. I use the business center in my building: 1 Elm Creek Drive, Elmhurst. The parking is free, and it's easily accessible to all expressways. You can bring anyone you like. Weekends work just fine, and weeknights are just as good, especially so Tuesdays and Thursdays.

MF:P.P.S. At the risk of sounding full of myself, I wouldn't need to look in a phone book to find your number. Let me balance that with 'permission' to call me Mike. My desire for formality is based on clarity; George WHO? (Mr. Kasp, Mr. Lutfallah.) WHICH Mike? (How many more percentage points do you think I could rely on when I found out I was the only 'MIKE' running in Melissa's election?) It also clarifies 'my guys' from everybody else.

DN:I have several clients with your first name. Not a one of them is as facile on paper. I would recognize you in all likelihood just by the way you craft a sentence. Very likely, you would have no problem figuring out that it was "The Donald" who sent you a missive as opposed to, say, Donald Duck. I always say that children should be obscene and not absurd, and most of the people around me who consider my opinions worth hearing appreciate it.


Don Nathan

Mr. Nathan,

If all of your clients are so well-recognizable to you with just their first names as you claim here, why did you fail to understand that I was talking about Steve Lauria, one of your clients, a short time later when you revealed as much about the American United affiliated owner in an e-mail, when I referred to him as "Steve" soon afterwards?

-Mike Foulks

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

THIS IS DONALD NATHAN REPLYING TO MIKE FOULKS, ALSO ON 10/26/07:

MF kay, Don,

Since we have now firmly established the price, I'll sincerely try to respect the offer.

DN:Good.

MF:Can you give me any free legal advice regarding the advantages or, more importantly, the disadvantages of maintaining an organizing group as a 'voluntary, non-profit, unincorporated association' as opposed to a registered non-profit association? Keep in mind that the collection of money would not be an authorized group activity.

DN:Yes. My preference would be to do that in person, however. There are details I would want to get that might affect my opinion, and I find doing that on a piece by piece basis by way of e-mail to be grossly inefficient. i am leaving for San Jose on a flight tonight at 7:30 and won't be back until late on November 1 - my son, age 7, and I are going to "Trick or Treat" on Halloween which is of key import to me - have any kids? I've had five, and they remain the focus of my life. I'd suggest we get together on my return from California, and I'll be around from the 2nd to the 21st working 7 days a week.

MF:Separately, could you provide any basic, written structure to guide a chairperson and a committee conducting a meeting which would include discussion and voting? Both of these would be very helpful to me.

DN:I suppose I could - but "Roberts Rules of Order" is really an excellent resource, and I might design such a basic, written structure with the principles of this seminal work in front of me. Use of that guide doesn't have to be misused - abused.

MF .S. I've previously queried Tang about a meeting and I might want to do so before Nov. 17 if it becomes mutually convenient. I am too busy right now to even speculate as to when.

DN:Your schedule isn't the only one to consider. I do still have 70 cases pending all over Northern Illinois: Cook, Du Page, Lake, McHenry, Kane, Winnebago, Carroll, Whiteside, Henry and Rock Island counties and the U.S.D.C.N.D.Ill, both eastern and western divisions along with several matters in Fulton County, Georgia where I am also licensed to practice law.

MF erhaps you and he could suggest the where.

DN n a weekend day, you might drive 16 miles directly west of the Loop to meet at my office. I use the business center in my building: 1 Elm Creek Drive, Elmhurst. The parking is free, and it's easily accessible to all expressways. You can bring anyone you like. Weekends work just fine, and weeknights are just as good, especially so Tuesdays and Thursdays.

MF .P.S. At the risk of sounding full of myself, I wouldn't need to look in a phone book to find your number. Let me balance that with 'permission' to call me Mike. My desire for formality is based on clarity; George WHO? (Mr. Kasp, Mr. Lutfallah.) WHICH Mike? (How many more percentage points do you think I could rely on when I found out I was the only 'MIKE' running in Melissa's election?) It also clarifies 'my guys' from everybody else.

DN:I have several clients with your first name. Not a one of them is as facile on paper. I would recognize you in all likelihood just by the way you craft a sentence. Very likely, you would have no problem figuring out that it was "The Donald" who sent you a missive as opposed to, say, Donald Duck. I always say that children should be obscene and not absurd, and most of the people around me who consider my opinions worth hearing appreciate it.


Don Nathan

THIS IS DONALD NATHAN REPLYING TO MIKE FOULKS 10/26/07:

MF:Mr. Nathan, (please forgive me if I use that now, or from time to time, as I believe that sometimes familiarity breeds contempt and formality fosters respect.),

DN:I don't really give a rat's patootie if you hold me in contempt, and I have even less concern for whether you choose to respect me. I don't NEED you. You might be of use in achieving goals that include providing financial relief for drivers of public passenger vehicles in Chicago, establishing some sort of group health insurance plan for them, setting up a pension plan that they can fall back on if old or permanently disabled, for their safety on the streets, that they not be exploited the further with needless regulation, etc.

I have no gain to realize from this effort - no stake in it. You won't even find a correct number for me in the phone book: the one listed connects to my fax machine. My practice is limited only to what I choose to handle, and most of that is for lawyers from all over the Midwest on referral.

You might want to work with me. You might not. I am not looking to lead you. And I am not seeking a leader to follow. I have my uses - a good lawyer does have his uses when there's trouble or when solutions have to be hatched. A good lawyer knows how to preserve secrets and confidences - that's what attorney client privilege is all about. And a good lawyer donates some of his time for the benefit of the public.

The A.R.D.C. requires we lawyers declare how much time we devote to pro bono work every year when we renew our licenses.

I prefer to give time to causes I support than to donate money. My kids are still sucking at my pockets. But I do have time. You want it? Justify it, and you'll get some of it. Don't, and I just give it to someone else who convinces me its worth giving it to him or her.

You claim to have goals. Some of them I have noted. On balance, I know little of what you are trying to accomplish. If you choose to enter into some sort of dialogue about those goals, you can rest assured your confidences are going to be preserved to my grave. If you choose not to do so, that's kewl to me too. I can be a source of intelligence if you like, and you can pass on it if you choose. That's what Art Dickholtz and Big Tony Bottalla used me for in different contexts.

Like I said - lawyers have their uses, especially so the ones who know what it is to drive a cab. Keep it in mind that I logged 200,000 miles of client counseling before taking an oath as an attorney and counselor at law.

Is that clear enough to you, Mr. Foulks?

MF:The reason I was so persistent in getting a straight answer from you is that I really couldn't conclude one way or the other and because I have use the words 'pipe dreams' to describe some aspects of people's hopes for the result of organizing. I used this phrase not so much to completely dissuade them from working towards any of those goals, but more so to redirect their energies to laying a foundation instead imagining the view from the upper floors.

DN:I wasn't using the phrase as a shibboleth. My policy is to say exactly what I mean to say. English has it's limitations because of the ambiguities of its phrasings. But I couldn't opt to express it in French which is much more precise (the language of diplomacy for that reason) because too few people are fluent in it.

MF:Please try to limit your use of 'FOLKS' to prevent anyone else from any unnecessary confusion.

DN:I'll be especially sensitive to it under the circumstances.

MF:I'm glad the tone of everybody's correspondence has changed.

DN:In what sense? We all have common goals. Perhaps you're the one coming to understand that.

MF:I will always read what people send me unless it tends to be tedious garbage, but I won't always be able to reply immediately or even at all at times. Be sure that I am reading what you send very carefully at the moment.

DN:That's encouraging. But don't be solipsistic about it, Mr. Foulks. I'm not crafting my thoughts with just you in mind. You are obviously a bright man, and I intend to reach you too, but I'm writing for the benefit of ALL of the public that drives for a living in Chicago and the greater Metro area.

MF:Let me clarify my 'insider/outsider' position: it's not that I don't believe that all outsiders are bad or even unnecessary, it's just that I can more quickly judge an insiders worth or more easily investigate an insider.

DN:I think that's plain old unadulterated bull****. Arthur Dickholtz stopped driving a cab in 1947. By the time he died in 1995, he owned a lot of them (I cannot tell you specifics because of attorney-client privilege that didn't die with AD as far as I'm concerned). Dickholtz was NOT an "outsider", and you wouldn't have had any problem judging him - nor would he you because he had the mind of a wolf.

MF:As much as I am a purist in believing that what you can build 'without' makes you leaner, meaner, and that much stronger, I am also a pragmatist who will ally with anybody in the most Machiavellian manner to accomplish the goals of my group. If Prateek has something of immeasurable value (like a stack of signatures) I will engage Prateek, whether he wants to or not, and whether he's aware of the double agency of the contact or not. Prateek should know now, as Indiana Jones was told, "There is nothing is this world which you can possess, which I cannot also take away."

DN:You are wise to operate this way. But you need not to be inbred - That policy leads to genetic malformations. It's like royalty that suffered from hemophilia.

MF:The only care I have for being portrayed as a beggar or a thief is how it suits my aims. Sometimes that suit is armor; and sometimes it is camoflauge. And sometimes, a cigar is just a cigar.

DN:Point made. That's why I respect you, Mr. Foulks. Maybe someday you'll choose to call me Don, and I'll be allowed to call you Mike. You should come for a cup of coffee when next Yi Tang and I host a meeting on November 17. Maybe we'll accomplish nothing, but more likely than not we can measure one another more accurately face to face.

Mr. Nathan,

About the ARDC, could you explain more about how and why they require you declare how much time you devote to pro bono work every year when you renew your license?

When was your law license renewed last? When will it be required to be renewed next? What is the number associated with your law license?

-Mike Foulks

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

THIS IS DONALD NATHAN REPLYING TO MIKE FOULKS 10/26/07:

MF:Mr. Nathan, (please forgive me if I use that now, or from time to time, as I believe that sometimes familiarity breeds contempt and formality fosters respect.),

DN:I don't really give a rat's patootie if you hold me in contempt, and I have even less concern for whether you choose to respect me. I don't NEED you. You might be of use in achieving goals that include providing financial relief for drivers of public passenger vehicles in Chicago, establishing some sort of group health insurance plan for them, setting up a pension plan that they can fall back on if old or permanently disabled, for their safety on the streets, that they not be exploited the further with needless regulation, etc.

I have no gain to realize from this effort - no stake in it. You won't even find a correct number for me in the phone book: the one listed connects to my fax machine. My practice is limited only to what I choose to handle, and most of that is for lawyers from all over the Midwest on referral.

You might want to work with me. You might not. I am not looking to lead you. And I am not seeking a leader to follow. I have my uses - a good lawyer does have his uses when there's trouble or when solutions have to be hatched. A good lawyer knows how to preserve secrets and confidences - that's what attorney client privilege is all about. And a good lawyer donates some of his time for the benefit of the public.

The A.R.D.C. requires we lawyers declare how much time we devote to pro bono work every year when we renew our licenses.

I prefer to give time to causes I support than to donate money. My kids are still sucking at my pockets. But I do have time. You want it? Justify it, and you'll get some of it. Don't, and I just give it to someone else who convinces me its worth giving it to him or her.

You claim to have goals. Some of them I have noted. On balance, I know little of what you are trying to accomplish. If you choose to enter into some sort of dialogue about those goals, you can rest assured your confidences are going to be preserved to my grave. If you choose not to do so, that's kewl to me too. I can be a source of intelligence if you like, and you can pass on it if you choose. That's what Art Dickholtz and Big Tony Bottalla used me for in different contexts.

Like I said - lawyers have their uses, especially so the ones who know what it is to drive a cab. Keep it in mind that I logged 200,000 miles of client counseling before taking an oath as an attorney and counselor at law.

Is that clear enough to you, Mr. Foulks?

MF:The reason I was so persistent in getting a straight answer from you is that I really couldn't conclude one way or the other and because I have use the words 'pipe dreams' to describe some aspects of people's hopes for the result of organizing. I used this phrase not so much to completely dissuade them from working towards any of those goals, but more so to redirect their energies to laying a foundation instead imagining the view from the upper floors.

DN:I wasn't using the phrase as a shibboleth. My policy is to say exactly what I mean to say. English has it's limitations because of the ambiguities of its phrasings. But I couldn't opt to express it in French which is much more precise (the language of diplomacy for that reason) because too few people are fluent in it.

MF lease try to limit your use of 'FOLKS' to prevent anyone else from any unnecessary confusion.

DN:I'll be especially sensitive to it under the circumstances.

MF:I'm glad the tone of everybody's correspondence has changed.

DN:In what sense? We all have common goals. Perhaps you're the one coming to understand that.

MF:I will always read what people send me unless it tends to be tedious garbage, but I won't always be able to reply immediately or even at all at times. Be sure that I am reading what you send very carefully at the moment.

DN:That's encouraging. But don't be solipsistic about it, Mr. Foulks. I'm not crafting my thoughts with just you in mind. You are obviously a bright man, and I intend to reach you too, but I'm writing for the benefit of ALL of the public that drives for a living in Chicago and the greater Metro area.

MF:Let me clarify my 'insider/outsider' position: it's not that I don't believe that all outsiders are bad or even unnecessary, it's just that I can more quickly judge an insiders worth or more easily investigate an insider.

DN:I think that's plain old unadulterated bull****. Arthur Dickholtz stopped driving a cab in 1947. By the time he died in 1995, he owned a lot of them (I cannot tell you specifics because of attorney-client privilege that didn't die with AD as far as I'm concerned). Dickholtz was NOT an "outsider", and you wouldn't have had any problem judging him - nor would he you because he had the mind of a wolf.

MF:As much as I am a purist in believing that what you can build 'without' makes you leaner, meaner, and that much stronger, I am also a pragmatist who will ally with anybody in the most Machiavellian manner to accomplish the goals of my group. If Prateek has something of immeasurable value (like a stack of signatures) I will engage Prateek, whether he wants to or not, and whether he's aware of the double agency of the contact or not. Prateek should know now, as Indiana Jones was told, "There is nothing is this world which you can possess, which I cannot also take away."

DN:You are wise to operate this way. But you need not to be inbred - That policy leads to genetic malformations. It's like royalty that suffered from hemophilia.

MF:The only care I have for being portrayed as a beggar or a thief is how it suits my aims. Sometimes that suit is armor; and sometimes it is camoflauge. And sometimes, a cigar is just a cigar.

DN oint made. That's why I respect you, Mr. Foulks. Maybe someday you'll choose to call me Don, and I'll be allowed to call you Mike. You should come for a cup of coffee when next Yi Tang and I host a meeting on November 17. Maybe we'll accomplish nothing, but more likely than not we can measure one another more accurately face to face.

THIS IS DONALD NATHAN REPLYING TO MIKE FOULKS, ALSO ON 10/24/07 III:

DN:I shouldn't be cute - I meant what I wrote. I guess that translates to "A", but I'm not sure what choice "B" would be. Does it really matter?

My point was to suggest that I recognize you to be a talented man - there are lots of them attending the University of Four Wheels - and that you ought not to be criticized for doing the best you could in an unfriendly forum.

Actually, as you characterize it, you did as well as you possibly could. It's just unfortunate any sparks flew back and forth with committee members. That said, I offer my respect for whatever little it's worth. I've been a communicator for a living for the entirety of my adult life, and I'm still learning.


Don Nathan

THIS IS DONALD NATHAN REPLYING TO MIKE FOULKS, ALSO ON 10/24/07 II:

MF:Yes, yes, yes.

Read my question again and answer either A or B, because you might be implying the opinion that either all of us (FOLKS) or just FOULKS believes that "THESE" are "PIPE DREAMS". This is not the first time that this synomatic problem has occurred in a serious discussion (and also at the ends of a Looney Tunes cartoons). Whether its A or B significantly reflects what I receive as to be your meaning. Please respond simply and ASAP. Thank you.

DN:I ain't dat bright. Take it as ya like. But rest assured, I mean you no harm, and I'm not looking to pick your pocket either. I don't need it.

Mr. Nathan,

Why did you again avoid answering a simple question?

-Mike Foulks

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

THIS IS DONALD NATHAN REPLYING TO MIKE FOULKS, ALSO ON 10/24/07 II:

MF:Yes, yes, yes.

Read my question again and answer either A or B, because you might be implying the opinion that either all of us (FOLKS) or just FOULKS believes that "THESE" are "PIPE DREAMS". This is not the first time that this synomatic problem has occurred in a serious discussion (and also at the ends of a Looney Tunes cartoons). Whether its A or B significantly reflects what I receive as to be your meaning. Please respond simply and ASAP. Thank you.

DN:I ain't dat bright. Take it as ya like. But rest assured, I mean you no harm, and I'm not looking to pick your pocket either. I don't need it.

THIS IS DONALD NATHAN REPLYING TO MIKE FOULKS, ALSO ON 10/24/07:

MF:A quick question- Did you mean to write "THESE AREN'T PIPE DREAMS FOLKS" as written or did you mean to write "THESE AREN"T PIPE DREAMS FOULKS". I hope you understand that my confusion about this and your answer is needed to determine a proper reply.

DN:You evidently give me little credit for my wit, Mr. Foulks. I tend to be rather folksy in my approach, and the Juries and judges have enjoyed it over the years. I was pretty good in my days as a driver too, if I may say it.

Just call me good ole' reliable Nathan, Nathan, Nathan ...

Our collective hopes aren't pipe dreams. They're attainable if we organize and work together to common goals. Quote me if you choose or ignore me if you reject my free help - no strings attached.

Mr. Nathan,

Why did you avoid answering a simple question?

-Mike Foulks

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

THIS IS DONALD NATHAN REPLYING TO MIKE FOULKS, ALSO ON 10/24/07:

MF:A quick question- Did you mean to write "THESE AREN'T PIPE DREAMS FOLKS" as written or did you mean to write "THESE AREN"T PIPE DREAMS FOULKS". I hope you understand that my confusion about this and your answer is needed to determine a proper reply.

DN:You evidently give me little credit for my wit, Mr. Foulks. I tend to be rather folksy in my approach, and the Juries and judges have enjoyed it over the years. I was pretty good in my days as a driver too, if I may say it.

Just call me good ole' reliable Nathan, Nathan, Nathan ...

Our collective hopes aren't pipe dreams. They're attainable if we organize and work together to common goals. Quote me if you choose or ignore me if you reject my free help - no strings attached.

THIS IS DONALD NATHAN REPLYING TO MIKE FOULKS 10/24/07:

MF:Thank you, Mr. Nathan.

DN:You are welcome, Mr. Foulks.

MF:Yi is not completely wrong. I believe he read a Tribune short posted on the internet which contains the quote. (Another example of why not to believe everything you read.)

DN:"All the news that's fit to print"

MF:I told the Transporation Committe that if they felt that 25% was too high then they should compromise it with their wisdom. I said that whether they give us 25%, 20%, 15%, 10% or whatever amount they see fit, they cannot give us nothing.

DN:That's what I do with Juries. That's what I used to do with passengers in my taxi when the topic of tips came up. I was hoping for 25%, but I was always willing to take "20%, 15%, 10% or whatever amount" they saw fit. I always felt I ought not to be stiffed.

MF:I then looked Mr. Reilly in the eye and told him that if the Council decides to give us nothing, then the next strike, demonstration, rally or march would be extremely disruptive to the traffic flow of his ward, which he had expressed concerns about when defending the ridiculous ticketing of drivers who are doing their jobs up and down Michigan Avenue and the like.

DN:That tack was probably counterproductive, speaking as a lawyer who tries to persuade Juries to award money to clients who have been hurt.

MF:I started to continue by noting the media coverage judging the strike of July 31st as being ineffective because the Loop was unaffected and asserted my honest belief that the Loop will be targeted and affected next time, when Mr. Reyboras raise his voice and said, "Don't come here and threaten us ..." which is when I apologized for any exaggerated tone he might be misinterpreting.

DN:He was only expressing what the lot of them were probably thinking. Respectfully speaking, you stepped over the line, and that was an unfortunate choice.

MF:I then quickly broke down the rest of my testimony into the simple fact of the dramatic gas price increase necessitating a meter increase of some amount, and then basically agreed with all of George and George's proposal except for the one which asked that independent operators not be required to take credit cards by arguing that either all of us shall take them or none of us in consideration of not confusing the passengers.

DN:This might well not have been heard after threatening the Committee members.

MF:I elaborated on the fundamental problems of requiring credit card acceptance and indicated a need to improve the requirements on the cab companies to provide a quicker and more reliable system. I then redirected the Committee to carefully consider the personal testimony of Sayeed, who said that the longer and longer hours are destroying his family life.

DN:Good - important points. Who can drive 14 hours a day 7 days a week in a world with $3/gallon gas?

MF:I agree with your contention that sometimes courage is need to sit in public and speak, but let me assure you that I do not need to summon that kind of courage anymore as I have spoken to all kinds of people in all kinds of settings in my vocation as a cabdriver and elsewhere.

DN:So too have I - 200,000 miles of cab driving and now 32 years of the practice of law, all of it in court before Juries in over 15,000 personal injury and workers compensation cases most of it related to taxi drivers and the taxi industry.

MF:I wish that more of the cabdrivers who spend a lot of time speaking the truth with each other would come and participate in this part of the political process. I intend to make my wishes come true.

DN:Good for you. Good for drivers in general.

MF:I have read some of your messages to other drivers and I thank you for your input, but let me clarify my position of wanting a Cabdriver-Only Organization:

DN:My chauffeur's license number was 11473. I drove from 1968 to 1975, first for Yellow, then American United, then Flash. My first job in civil practice was as the associate for Sherman Dickholtz on the Flash Cab lot. I was one of eight lawyers who represented cab drivers as defendants for Delta Casualty (mostly Flash affiliates) from 1977 to 1995. I represented drivers from American United from offices at 2353 W. Belmont from 1996 to 1998. Over the years, I have represented 7,500 cab drivers as injured victims. I still represent them, but now I limit my practice to catastrophic injuries because I'm semi-retired.

MF:It is much more likely that an outsider has selfish interests incongruent with those of insiders.

DN:The insider-outsider business doesn't cut it if you give it some thought.

I don't need doodly squat any more. I've done pretty well. Half the time I am in my home in the hills east of Monterey, California. My wife says I have too much free time, and I'm trying to give some of it away. You don't want it? Why the hell not? You have nothing I want other than the rights you need and don't have. And I don't think you're any more an "insider" than anyone else.

When I was a kid growing up in New York, there used to be billboards up everywhere depicting a beautiful black guy with a big toothy white smile. He was holding up a huge corned beef sandwich in one hand. Below it read: "YOU DON'T NEED TO BE JEWISH TO ENJOY LEVY'S RYE BREAD".

Do I make my point, Mr. Foulks?

MF:I am not taking the time to judge you,

DN:I hope to gosh not. Then I'd think you just prejudiced. You haven't met me. You don't know jack squat about me other than for what you've read or heard said.

MF:but I have taken the time to judge the AFSC TWO Project and Prateek Sampat and have reached a conclusion that he is no good until proven otherwise.

DN:I'm not here to defend the kid. He's not very mature, however, and it shows in ways that really put a lot of people off. I'm three times his age, so he ****** me off too - maybe more so than you because I've invested my entire 40 year career into the cab industry.

MF:I will read anything you send me, but please do not be offended if my priorities delay an appropriate response.

DN:I expect absolutely nothing from you. If we interact, it's going to be toward the end of winning the things drivers need. Your priorities aren't any different from mine. I just have more time because I'm semi-retired.

MF:I am not in this for the money,

DN:I'm not either. I stand to gain nothing. I'm not looking for more business and need nothing at this point other than to enjoy things that are important to me in this life.

MF:so therefore my time is that much more valuable.

DN:No more valuable than mine is, young man.

MF:I would like to meet you in person some point in the future at our mutual convenience, but please do not seek me out; one of my weaknesses is my politeness. I know you are sophisticated enough to get what I'm trying to express.

DN:I haven't a clue what you're trying to say. I feel no compulsion to meet you in person, although it is likely to happen unless I get sick of trying to give away my time pro bono publico. I'm not the kind who sits in the shadows, but I have no particular reason to seek you out any more so than you do me. I do hope to have been polite in replying to your comments and not to have given offense.

I know you are sophisticated enough to get what I'm trying to express, Mr. Foulks.

Should we meet, however, I'd far prefer to be called by my first name: "Don". Nobody calls me "Slim" any more, but my first name is qutie polite enough. Mr. Nathan died 12 years ago.


Donald Nathan

THIS IS DONALD NATHAN TO YI TANG, ALSO 10/23/07:

Thank you for this link, Yi. Great story. I only wish we could clone a few of those brave men and women to organize here in Chicago. It makes me proud for those I've served over the years to know that spirit does live here, and the sight of those demonstrators should be played over and over for drivers here to see.

THIS YI TANG TO DONALD NATHAN AND A REPLY 10/23/07:

I feel sad about him today begging in the City Hall.

"Give us 5 percent, give us 10 percent. . . . Make a compromise and give us something," driver Mike Foulks said.

If I was wrong, please feel free to correct me.

Yi
You are wrong, Yi - whatever gets done, no one can be too proud to beg for relief even if you can characterize what he did as begging.

Although I wasn't there, it takes courage to sit before that committee and express oneself. Foulks is not to be criticized for whatever he said. Even a token rate increase would help a desperate situation.

Donald Nathan

MIKE FOULKS COMMENTS: Neither Yi Tang or Donald Nathan attended this important hearing for a fare increase at City Hall.

Yi Tang relied on an Internet report from the Chicago Tribune which characterized my comments as "begging".

Others in attendance more accurately characterized my comments as "threatening", for better or worse.

Yi Tang and Donald Nathan:

If both of you are so interested in helping cabdrivers, why did neither of you attend the important hearing for a fare increase or testify like so many others?

-Mike Foulks

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

THIS YI TANG TO DONALD NATHAN AND A REPLY 10/23/07:

I feel sad about him today begging in the City Hall.

"Give us 5 percent, give us 10 percent. . . . Make a compromise and give us something," driver Mike Foulks said.

If I was wrong, please feel free to correct me.

Yi
You are wrong, Yi - whatever gets done, no one can be too proud to beg for relief even if you can characterize what he did as begging.

Although I wasn't there, it takes courage to sit before that committee and express oneself. Foulks is not to be criticized for whatever he said. Even a token rate increase would help a desperate situation.

Donald Nathan

MIKE FOULKS COMMENTS: Neither Yi Tang or Donald Nathan attended this important hearing for a fare increase at City Hall.

Yi Tang relied on an Internet report from the Chicago Tribune which characterized my comments as "begging".

Others in attendance more accurately characterized my comments as "threatening", for better or worse.

THIS IS FROM DONALD NATHAN TO YI TANG 10/23/07:


Mike Foulks is obviously a bright man, a good writer and he seems to want to know what's in it for you to be working toward organizing cab drivers. He wants to know where you've been, what you do now and why you're concerned about the industry. In short, he wants you to drop your trousers so you can be held up to public scrutiny.

Why on earth would you do that?

Foulks is just going to have to understand that there are some people out there who don't have any direct gain to realize by involving themselves in winning some results for drivers. There are some people who just want to give of themselves. It's something they just have to do.

Some such people don't want to get into the limelight. They get enough satisfaction from seeing results that follow from working together. Many people from countries where people don't routinely work together have a hard time understanding why other people from countries where millions act in consort get real pleasure when they see the job done. It's what built the "Great Wall" among other things. It's what brought the British to their knees in South Asia in the late '40's.

My recommendation is that you keep on keeping on - work as you do with others like you to build an organization that can win the things drivers in CHICAGO need: a significant meter increase, periodic review of meter rates to take into account rapid rises in gasoline rates, limitation of lease fees, medical insurance, a pension plan, and on and on and on.

THESE AREN'T PIPE DREAMS FOLKS.

Let Yi Tang and others like him do their thing.


Donald Nathan
former c/l $11473

THIS IS FROM DONALD NATHAN TO YI TANG 10/23/07:


Mike Foulks is obviously a bright man, a good writer and he seems to want to know what's in it for you to be working toward organizing cab drivers. He wants to know where you've been, what you do now and why you're concerned about the industry. In short, he wants you to drop your trousers so you can be held up to public scrutiny.

Why on earth would you do that?
_______________________________________________

Mr. Nathan, why on earth shouldn't Yi Tang tell us "where he's been, what he does now, and why he's so concerned about the industry"?

-Mike Foulks

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

THIS IS FROM DONALD NATHAN TO YI TANG 10/23/07:


Mike Foulks is obviously a bright man, a good writer and he seems to want to know what's in it for you to be working toward organizing cab drivers. He wants to know where you've been, what you do now and why you're concerned about the industry. In short, he wants you to drop your trousers so you can be held up to public scrutiny.

Why on earth would you do that?

Foulks is just going to have to understand that there are some people out there who don't have any direct gain to realize by involving themselves in winning some results for drivers. There are some people who just want to give of themselves. It's something they just have to do.

Some such people don't want to get into the limelight. They get enough satisfaction from seeing results that follow from working together. Many people from countries where people don't routinely work together have a hard time understanding why other people from countries where millions act in consort get real pleasure when they see the job done. It's what built the "Great Wall" among other things. It's what brought the British to their knees in South Asia in the late '40's.

My recommendation is that you keep on keeping on - work as you do with others like you to build an organization that can win the things drivers in CHICAGO need: a significant meter increase, periodic review of meter rates to take into account rapid rises in gasoline rates, limitation of lease fees, medical insurance, a pension plan, and on and on and on.

THESE AREN'T PIPE DREAMS FOLKS.

Let Yi Tang and others like him do their thing.


Donald Nathan
former c/l $11473

THIS IS MIKE FOULKS TO YI TANG BEFORE 10/23/07

Re: This is the best I have read so far...

Something Money Can’t Buy ----- Dignity and Respectþ


“The people who do this job are desperate,” Professor Hodges said. When an incentive like yesterday’s special fares comes along, “you don’t have to be a Marxist to understand that that will breed strikebreakers.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/23/nyregion/23nyc.html?ref=nyregion


Yi Tang-

Thank you for your numerous postings containing links to sites with information about what is happening in NYC. While I will always contend that Chicago and New York are fundamentally different taxi business enviroments, we should pay attention to what is happening in NYC, but take enough care to contrast and compare that with what is happening here with these fundamental differences in mind. Simply said, "Chicago is not New York City. (Thank God.)".

I have noticed that both you and Wolfgang Weiss like to interlace your more pratical postings with philosophical quotes and metaphysical statements. Too many of these can lead a conversation astray into the ashtrays what divides us and away from the dinner plate of what we agree on. At least you have given us a lot to chew on instead of blowing smoke.

Could you please post a short bio of yourself so that we can better understnad where you are coming from? When I attended that ridiculous meeting with Prateek Sampat at UNITE-HERE, I think you said that you used to be a cabdriver, but that you are not one now. You gave me a ride over to Carriage Cab in an immaculate, white Town Car limo. Are you a cabdriver or a limo driver? What do you hope to accomplish and what is your interest with organizing cabdrivers?

Thanks again, Yi, for your contributions.

-Mike Foulks

Seriously, Mike, do you think anyone is going to bother slogging through that garbage? And even if they do, who cares about any of it?

Privilege was for you to waive, and you've done so. But there's nothing interesting enough to comment on really. It's just a consummate bore.

Will you answer the 3 questions I asked you a long time ago, Yi Tang?

Could you please post a short bio of yourself so that we can better understnad where you are coming from? When I attended that ridiculous meeting with Prateek Sampat at UNITE-HERE, I think you said that you used to be a cabdriver, but that you are not one now. You gave me a ride over to Carriage Cab in an immaculate, white Town Car limo. Are you a cabdriver or a limo driver? What do you hope to accomplish and what is your interest with organizing cabdrivers?

-Mike Foulks

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

THIS IS MIKE FOULKS TO YI TANG BEFORE 10/23/07

Re: This is the best I have read so far...

Something Money Can’t Buy ----- Dignity and Respectþ


“The people who do this job are desperate,” Professor Hodges said. When an incentive like yesterday’s special fares comes along, “you don’t have to be a Marxist to understand that that will breed strikebreakers.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/23/nyregion/23nyc.html?ref=nyregion


Yi Tang-

Thank you for your numerous postings containing links to sites with information about what is happening in NYC. While I will always contend that Chicago and New York are fundamentally different taxi business enviroments, we should pay attention to what is happening in NYC, but take enough care to contrast and compare that with what is happening here with these fundamental differences in mind. Simply said, "Chicago is not New York City. (Thank God.)".

I have noticed that both you and Wolfgang Weiss like to interlace your more pratical postings with philosophical quotes and metaphysical statements. Too many of these can lead a conversation astray into the ashtrays what divides us and away from the dinner plate of what we agree on. At least you have given us a lot to chew on instead of blowing smoke.

Could you please post a short bio of yourself so that we can better understnad where you are coming from? When I attended that ridiculous meeting with Prateek Sampat at UNITE-HERE, I think you said that you used to be a cabdriver, but that you are not one now. You gave me a ride over to Carriage Cab in an immaculate, white Town Car limo. Are you a cabdriver or a limo driver? What do you hope to accomplish and what is your interest with organizing cabdrivers?

Thanks again, Yi, for your contributions.

-Mike Foulks

Mr. Foulks:

Have you posted these E-Mails yet at the O’Hare? Why not so if they are important to all drivers to know?

I find that it is impossible to follow up your logic for keeping secrets from drivers. Is it the time for you to clean up CCO’s closet like a garage sale?

I would be more interested in about the performances of the previous elected vice president of CCO, like any reader of the Tribune. Has he resigned (or been fired) according to the Articles of Organization of CCO?

Anything else you have been hiding? The “truth” please, Mr. Foulks!

Mr. Tang

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

Wolfgang J. Weiss,

Thanks for the "blast from the past"!

December 3, 2007? Let's set the way-back machine a little further...

A perfect segue into rarely-seen before e-from my "least-favorite lawyer", Donald S. Nathan.

Enjoy reading, everyone!

-Mike Foulks, President, Chicago Cabdriver Organization (CCO)

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

The previous post is from Mr. Presiddont's favorite attorney.

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

Balst from the past:

Posted Dec 3, 07 - "The young man is running his head into a wall as far as I can tell - it's a bit like a bull in the ring after the Picadors have riled him up. The harm he does to his cause, and that of all people of good will, is unfortunate - hate is always recognized for what it is; most sensible people disrespect haters."

"My sincere hope is that he might wake up to what he is doing to shoot his organization in its collective foot. Before he hopelessly trashes his future credibility before the Transportation Committee, he should think before shooting off his mouth spewing venom that hurts no one."

"Judging from his continued rantings, these comments are likely to fall on deaf ears. Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised, and he won't carry this on the further; that he will recognize the need to battle with enemies rather than allies."

Mr. Tang,

I have not posted these e-mails anywhere but here. Your suggestion that they "are important to all drivers to know" is simply your characterization of them.

What "secrets" have I been "keeping from drivers"? Your logic is what I find impossible to follow at times like this.

"Is it time for you to clean up CCO's closet like a garage sale?" -Yi Tang.

I have absolutely no idea what you mean by this. Could you explain?

I don't think that most "readers of the Tribune" care about the "performance" of the previous APPOINTED Vice President of the CCO. He was elected to be a Cabdriver-Representative of the CCO, then appointed to Vice President by me.

I haven't ever received any "resignation" from him. He eventually failed to attend two regular CCO meetings in a row and was removed from his positions by me.

I haven't "hid" anything from anyone. You are the first to ask about this.

Yi Tang, you and others should know by now how adamant I am about truth-telling, from myself and others.

Any other questions you would like me to answer, Mr. Tang?

-Mike Foulks

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

Mr. Foulks:

Have you posted these E-Mails yet at the O’Hare? Why not so if they are important to all drivers to know?

I find that it is impossible to follow up your logic for keeping secrets from drivers. Is it the time for you to clean up CCO’s closet like a garage sale?

I would be more interested in about the performances of the previous elected vice president of CCO, like any reader of the Tribune. Has he resigned (or been fired) according to the Articles of Organization of CCO?

Anything else you have been hiding? The “truth” please, Mr. Foulks!

Mr. Tang

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

Wolfgang J. Weiss,

Thanks for the "blast from the past"!

December 3, 2007? Let's set the way-back machine a little further...

A perfect segue into rarely-seen before e-from my "least-favorite lawyer", Donald S. Nathan.

Enjoy reading, everyone!

-Mike Foulks, President, Chicago Cabdriver Organization (CCO)

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

The previous post is from Mr. Presiddont's favorite attorney.

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

Balst from the past:

Posted Dec 3, 07 - "The young man is running his head into a wall as far as I can tell - it's a bit like a bull in the ring after the Picadors have riled him up. The harm he does to his cause, and that of all people of good will, is unfortunate - hate is always recognized for what it is; most sensible people disrespect haters."

"My sincere hope is that he might wake up to what he is doing to shoot his organization in its collective foot. Before he hopelessly trashes his future credibility before the Transportation Committee, he should think before shooting off his mouth spewing venom that hurts no one."

"Judging from his continued rantings, these comments are likely to fall on deaf ears. Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised, and he won't carry this on the further; that he will recognize the need to battle with enemies rather than allies."

Mr. Foulks:

You could well spend the time in promoting your vice president, so he may stay longer with you this time.

Has he ever had any comments or anything to say himself?

Mr. Tang

Mr. Tang,

I'm not here to "promote" any CCO Vice President. Their decision to participate in whatever fashion is their responsibility.

Mr. Syed Z. Ali made many comments which have been recorded at that several CCO meetings he attended.

I think he would have continued participating if some of the other well-known "Cabdriver-Representatives" bothered to show up as well.

-Mike Foulks

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

Mr. Foulks:

You could well spend the time in promoting your vice president, so he may stay longer with you this time.

Has he ever had any comments or anything to say himself?

Mr. Tang

Wolf,

I didn't bribe anybody to vote for me, though a well-known "wino" indeed did vote for me in the first CCO election...he had a current chauffeur's license and a current lease.

Ask Steve Wiedersberg about it. He was supposed to cast one of his two votes for him.

Wolf, you are the Doctor Come Louder of "B.S." and an expert on posting with aliases. I defer you your authority, and your authority, and your authority, and your authority, and your authority, and your authority, etc.

Stay away from fires you can't put out until you bring using some "water", Wolf-flame.

-Mike Foulks, who has a belly-button and a human brain.

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

There is nothing LESS DEMOCRATIC than Mikey, accept his appointing himself and staging a fake election with blank ballots and bribing people to vote.

Hey, did I get a vote? A gave a wino a big bottle Old Rebel Yell.

Of course everyone has the right to use a pen name or handle and there is no "secrecy" or hiding" or "hypocrisy" by not posting one's real name or title of any organization one may be involved with.

That's one of those "non-logical argument" ie., BS of the highest order.

There is no "obvious hypocrisy" other than Foulks trying to pretend he is a human being.

Trying to have a discussion here is like throwing gasoline on fire to try to put it out.

OK Mr, Foulks, you have proven beyond any doubt that you are a prime candidate for hospitalization in a locked ward -- for you own good!

These postings – obvious to even a non medical professional -- are the output of a person suffering from an OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER.

This is very real debilitative and destructive illness, not just wise remarks or flagrantly abusive commentary.

These postings do not further the cause or provide insight to any of the issues at hand, other than the issue of “one of our own” in deep distress.

When you allow this kind of extremely excessive behavior, you no longer have a "DISCUSSION FORUM, but rather a VOMITORIUM.

We, on this forum sadly can not help this poor demented, tortured soul. I would hope that common sense and decency prevail – must prevail.

It is very saddening for me, personally to see this. I have seen mental illness of this type destroy a very close and true friend.

And I have seen proud and brave men – decorated soldiers who withstood and survived the worst horrors of war one can live through -- succumb to the devils and demons in their heads.

I am hereby abstaining from any further comments regarding Mr. Foulks and his alleged organization.

Mike, I am truly sorry. Please get help.

--Wolfgang J. Weiss—

Wolf,

If you truly believe that I am a "prime candidate for hospitalization in a locked ward", it is you whose mental state needs observing.

Shame on you for using the very real world of mentally ill people in a failed attempt to ridicule or belittle me, someone who simply disagrees with you on political issues or events.

"Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder"? Wolf, it seems that you can't help yourself when you schizophrenically post remarks under many different aliases.

Are you sure that you aren't the one who needs medical attention?

I know for a fact that you suffer from verbal diarrhea.

When you use "we", Wolf, who are you referring to? You and yourself?

Mental illness won't destroy me, Wolf, don't worry. Sorry to hear about your friend.

There are no "devils and demons" in my head, Wolf. Are there any in yours we should know about?

"I am hereby abstaining from any further comments regarding Mr. Foulks and his alleged organization." -Wolf Weiss

If I could only believe this to be true, Wolf. Let me help you by saying that you don't have to quit your abberrant behavior permanently, just each time you get the urge.

Practice right now. See if you can abstain from responding to this current comment from mine. It's not as hard as it seems. Just don't hit "Post Message".

It gets easier with time, Wolf, trust me.

-Mike Foulks

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

OK Mr, Foulks, you have proven beyond any doubt that you are a prime candidate for hospitalization in a locked ward -- for you own good!

These postings – obvious to even a non medical professional -- are the output of a person suffering from an OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER.

This is very real debilitative and destructive illness, not just wise remarks or flagrantly abusive commentary.

These postings do not further the cause or provide insight to any of the issues at hand, other than the issue of “one of our own” in deep distress.

When you allow this kind of extremely excessive behavior, you no longer have a "DISCUSSION FORUM, but rather a VOMITORIUM.

We, on this forum sadly can not help this poor demented, tortured soul. I would hope that common sense and decency prevail – must prevail.

It is very saddening for me, personally to see this. I have seen mental illness of this type destroy a very close and true friend.

And I have seen proud and brave men – decorated soldiers who withstood and survived the worst horrors of war one can live through -- succumb to the devils and demons in their heads.

I am hereby abstaining from any further comments regarding Mr. Foulks and his alleged organization.

Mike, I am truly sorry. Please get help.

--Wolfgang J. Weiss—