http://www.myfoxmemphis.com/myfox/pages/InsideFox/Detail?contentId=3669463&version=2&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=5.7.1

I thought NY was bad....

When I was driving a yellow cab in NYC back in 1990, I once flipped this guy off for beeping at me. While waiting at a red light boxed in by other cars around me, he took that advantage and got out of his car walking over to me with a 22 caliber which he non- chalantly showed me through my closed driver's window....lol

Of course....I waved and said sorry......lol
He simply walked back to his car, and I gave him the finger...lol

Some people need to hide behind a gun. It would have turned much different without the gun.
And the Taxi and limousine commission states that no driver is allowed to have anything that even remotely resembles a weapon. HUH? We were also not allowed to lock the doors. HUH? IN NEW YORK CITY? Are you kidding me?
I got a ticket that I beat because of my union. A locked door ticket.

A bum can literally walk into my cab, and I have no choice in the matter. Now you want to talk about Gestapo at the TLC headquarters...you got one.
The "TLC" doesn't stand for " tender loving care"...lol

The world has gone mad!

it is like living in a third world country in this city.i'll tell you these hard cold statistics.memphis is the 2nd most dangerous city in america and one of the poorest.i am living in a very descent neighborhood thats going through a 'transition'.all the sudden i'm either surrounded by non english speaking arabs or mexicans or i got the 'homeboys' over on the end of the hall that blare their music like i'm living in a nightclub.where in the hell can you live in peace these days where it doesn't cost you your life savings.the standard of living here is bad.

Unfortunately, the standard of living is solely based on income. Where you live, and what you do for a living.

Here in Naples or Bonita Springs where i live, I have none of the problems you mention, but I have ones that simply replace the ones bothering everyone else. I'm not in any way exempt from those same rules. I just have to deal with them in my own little way. Ways, like how to come up with rent in a seasonal environment.

It's either feast or famine...lol

True, Pac. This is certainly a pretty safe area, although crime has risen quote a bit, especially in Fort Myers. However, the nice areas are becoming unaffordable to most of the working class. Every other house on my street is on the market.

Well, talking about rent being overdue....HA! Just won 500 last night. 300 goes to the remaining of what I owe.
Thank God. It's nice to be ahead for a change...lol

way to go on winning pac.did you get a pick 3 straight?

if ya'll get a chance click on this link....http://www.myfoxmemphis.com/myfox/pages/InsideFox/Detail?contentId=3669463&version=2&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=5.7.1

this a*****e mayor is trying to stir up some serious trouble.last thing we need is more racial tension.everyone here still remembers 1968 like it was yesterday.some wounds never heal.

I went to the link. It's the usual "whitey this" "whitey that" Whitey's to blame for everythang! It's always easier to push blame another direction, rather then look inside yourself. He is the mayor of a biggg city, he can call a press conference anytime he wants and get live TV coverage to preach whatever message he chooses. This is an opportunity most will never have.
On a personal note, i'd never live in a biggg city again. if there's a major freeway within 25 miles, i won't live there! The further away from the jungle the better. My advise, take the time to find a decent place/location and MOVE.

That little black boy didn't have to look inside himself - a bullet did it for him. He was a child. A victim of living in a world full of ignorance. And he died because of fear. We are suppose to protect children. If cops will shoot a 90 yrs old women in error what makes you think they won't kill a 12 year old boy. Most of the cops that shoot in error like that are scared. They run across kids packing guns bigger than theirs. I blame the parents.

It's a bigger problem that any of you can imagine.

What we should be concerned about is raising our children not to be ignorant and do our part in trying to make this a better place to live.

I agree. Ignorance is a bigot and a slaver.

Yes I did mike. I hit str. on 712. I don't have a scanner, but will take a pic of the ticket and post it on youtube..lol

Boy did I need it...

I read about this a few days ago. Bad situation all around. When I was in Memphis last summer, people told me that there were some rough areas, but the worst thing I encountered was 1 standoffish person. Most everyone, white or black, was friendly. Maybe my out-of-town accent (and the fact that I was only there for a weekend) smoothed my path.

According to a study published in Psychology Today several years ago, 78% of police officers in the United States joined the force because they were bullied as children. The remainder joined out of family tradition, because they were unemployed or because they or a family member had been a victim of violent crime.
   I guess we all know that police officers aren't the brightest people, but the following AP article really puts this in perspective:
   Dateline: 09/08/00
   Title: Too Smart To Be A Cop
   The Associated Press reported this case from New London. Connecticut:
   "A man whose bid to become a police officer was rejected after he scored too high on an intelligence test has lost an appeal in his federal lawsuit against the city. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York upheld a lower court's decision that the city did not discriminate against Robert Jordan because the same standards were applied to everyone who took the test. In 1996, Jordan scored 33 points on the police exam, which is the equivalent of an IQ of 125 (well above average, but 15 points short of the "genius" cutoff of 140).
   But New London police interviewed only those candidates who scored 20 to 27, on the theory that those who scored too high could get bored with police work and leave soon after undergoing costly training.
   Associated Press reports that the national average for police officers is an IQ of 104, or about average.
   The U. S. District Court ruled the New London police had a reasonable explanation for their policy of rejecting applicants who were too intelligent -- they might get easily bored and leave the job after receiving expensive training. On August 23, 2000, the Second Circuit Court agreed.
   Robert Jordan has been working as a prison guard since his rejection by New London police. Apparently, prison authorities don't care if Jordan is too intelligent for the guard job; or maybe prison guards have to be smarter than police recruits."
   Link: http/abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/toosmart000908.html

   I'm sorry he lost his case, but this guy strikes me as being a 78 percenter; he has an inherent need to feel superior to those around him. "Well, if I can't be a cop, I'll be a prison guard, and I'll still get to push people around."
   LOTTOMIKE, the situation in Memphis has less to do with race than it does with putting guns into the hands of people who aren't smart enough to know how to use them properly; they might have shot a white child just as quickly, even if he'd been holding nothing more threatening than a football. The real problem, in my opinion, is that police officers are not held accountable for actions such as this one. All they have to do is say, "We thought he had a gun, so we emptied our clips." What they don't say in open court is, " Despite our warnings to stop, the suspect continued to bleed profusely while lying on the ground, so we reloaded a couple of times."
   The police are no longer concerned with our safety. An Indianapolis police officer posted to a forum called "Taking Down Words." He said, and I quote, "The courts have ruled in previous cases that a police officer has no obligation to put himself in harm's way to protect a citizen from serious bodily harm or from imminent death." This would indicate that the police are a greater threat to our personal safety than any other criminal we might encounter.
   Be safe, everybody!
   Jim

jim i agree,i was a victim of police brutality in feb of 2005.i called ballin the same lawyer who defended the winkler case and he told me if i pressed charges against the police that the law would follow me,hound me and try every means possible to intimidate me.i was also told the last person who sued the police went 'missing'.i said screw it and moved on however if i see that cop out of uniform i'm gonna bust his face in the pavement.

Janet- Did you follow the link? It was about the mayor's bid for re-election and had nothing to do with the shooting.
My comments were based on the mayor's statement, not the shooting. And i still believe anyone of power should show leadership and not look to push blame on someone else for the problems that exist. He's the top dog, he's should solve the problems, and not be the cause of more problems through his ignorant racist statements.

Yes, I followed the link and I heard the mayor's statement. He was out of line for losing it in public. But if I had been there I would have given him a hand because that took guts. However, it was not the time to remind Americans of the racial inequalities that blacks endure since being brought to this country. It tends to bring out the bigots and everyone have agreed that pulling the race card is not allowed.

But if you are an intelligent person and know your history you would have heard it as the truth spoken, especially about the media. The state of Tn has a horrific history of race problems.

What he said about the media was right on target. They do indeed create divisiveness and they don't have to try very hard because Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson helps them. They only piss off the bigots and keep things going. It's like they run around putting out fires, keeping score. But it will be worst if they didn't. The bigots and ignorant people respond with anger and hatred. I shake my head.

If you are interested in learning what the mayor meant when he talked about the media "creating divisiveness" view a documentary called "Ethnic Notions" by Marlon Riggs - we screened it at work.   We always did other controversial films and discussed them later with many races participating in the discussion. People still have these same notions, but they are presented now in a different sublime form. You just have to be able to recognize them.

"Ethnic Notions" talk about the disturbing voyage through American history, tracing the deep-rooted stereotypes which have fueled black prejudice. Through these images we can begin to understand the evolution of racial consciousness in America. quoted from http://newsreel.org/nav/title.asp?tc=CN0026

It's a good start.   

LottoMike, why do most of your blog entries tend to be race-related?