A Memphis mom was fired for telling the truth about crime; now she’s fighting back

There was a time when the most effective weapon against crime in American cities was a badge and a gun. Today, it’s a boring old spreadsheet.

In Memphis, a city long defined by bruising battles with violent crime, the local political establishment has discovered something it fears far more than gunfire: public transparency.

For the first time in six years, Ballinger’s family members were able to celebrate a birthday in their own back yard.

Dalisia Ballinger understands this threat better than the politicians currently spending taxpayer money to hide the truth.

War zone

A former Memphis news reporter and a mother, Ballinger knows exactly what a stray bullet sounds like when it tears through residential drywall. One sweltering evening, she stood in her living room when three men emerged