I have no problem with people taking up a cause and bringing their message to the people and to their elected officials. What I do have a problem with are people that lie to the media about what they are and who they represent, inflate numbers in their favor - and use deceptive tactics and false threats to help push their message.

There is a particular group of taxi drivers led by a lady that claims to be the "official" taxi union of New York City - despite the fact that taxi drivers do not have an official union whatsoever. She also claims to know firsthand what drivers have to endure on a daily basis - although she has never driven a taxicab and does not even possess a taxicab operator's license. And, she claims to have anywhere between 5,000 and 10,000 members in her "alliance" - even though only twenty showed up at her protest today.

In the pouring rain, she and her "members" rallied for a fare increase, something the TLC has the authority to approve. While I can sympathize with her cause and even appreciate that she is taking the lead and trying to rally drivers behind her - she has, in my opinion - absolutely no credibility only because the lies, false threats and deceptive tactics she uses far overshadows her true message or good intentions.

Besides the fact that to me, this woman advocating for drivers is the same thing as me advocating for doctors - despite the fact that I have never practiced medicine and do not even possess a license to do so - she tells the media that she is much more then she is and has more people behind her then she actually does. And that right there makes me look at her as a liar and a phony rather than an advocate or a leader.

If you are serious about your cause, tell the public and the media the truth. Tell them that you are a grass roots organization with less then one hundred members. Tell them that you want to organize drivers and encourage them to rally behind you. Tell them that you may not be a driver, but you have their best interests at heart. Don't tell them that if you don't get what you want - you will organize a Citywide taxi strike when you do not have even five percent of the industry behind you. Don't tell them that you will have so many drivers at your rally that people will have a hard time getting a cab today - and don't tell them that you are the official taxi union - when you know for a fact that there is no such thing.

I encourage anyone with a cause and the hunger to lobby for it to take their views to the Government - I just suggest that they play "fare" and be honest with the public, the media, and their "members"...

...because then they may be taken seriously.