Grasshopper's Appeal part 6

My Flowery Defense ...pages 26 -- 29

Prior post:

Grasshopper's Appeal part 5

[ page 26 ]

The Off—Color Exhibit and My Flower Defense

Karen Hallett presented an exhibit of my Grasshopper Taxicab Company van to show the color scheme, and as part of her arguments against me. The only problem is that it wasn’t quite the correct color. Instead of being a vaguely wild orchid, or dark pink, or purple, it was overly reddish in the hue that the prosecutor was presenting in her exhibit. It made me groan every time I saw it , and cry out, “Oh my God,” despite myself. As an aggravated small business owner who was watching every thing I’d ever struggled to achieve be torn away from me in front of my eyes, including that off—color color scheme, it was physically and psychically painful to me to see the truth so blatantly misrepresented. It was all distorted through an off-color lens.

Now, I had to choose that color scheme with great care when I was starting my business for two reasons. One important consideration was that it be distinctive from the other official and sundry color schemes already in use in the City and County of San Francisco. The other was that there be sufficiently contrasting colors so as to be able to be easily read, for clear identification of numbers and letters determining said color scheme. Some guys (Best Cab) had to go through the commission four times to get theirs approved, I’m told, but mine passed the first time, with flying colors. This was because I had studied the issue carefully , and even gotten a repaint of the initial green paint that was applied, for the green Grasshopper and lettering, as these were setting the precedent. Unlike a later issue that arose with the poor visibility of the Fog City cab contrast, formerly lime green on green, mine never had any such issues. Except in court. (Now Fog City has employed black lettering contrasting a green background.)

All my hard work was being used against me, which was devastating . The red color scheme that Hallett presented was neither mine, nor a fair representation of it, in that the red made it hard to see the green Grasshopper contrasting nicely on a soft purple wild orchid background. In real life, it looked especially pretty in the light around sunset. But they discolored my color scheme and then used it against me with that exhibit.

Part of my defense was an attempt to show that not only were they wrong or perhaps getting an incorrect perspective about the truth of my character and these supposed events and utterances, but as well the very photos that were being exhibited were off color and illusory. One such issue was that I had some flower sticking up out of my dashboard, and dried flowers resting on it.

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[ Page 27 ]

At this time I will confess that having materials upon the dashboard of any sort is indeed the violation of taxicab law that you must have suspected it to be. So of having flowers on the dashboard I am indeed guilty. Oddly, that is not the charge that was given to me. It was, however, a point that Vandebos held against me. I presume we are to believe that the presence of these flowers upon the dashboard was a cause for fear or unrest. Hallett herself repeated how I had dead flowers all over the dashboard,— surely the mark of an incorrigible criminal. Interestingly , the irises sticking out of the hole in the dashboard where once a Luxor computer had been, rooted then removed to leave an opening, these fine blue irises seemed to be bold and full of life. They were still fresh when the photo was taken. Alive.

Technically, since the irises were in the hole in the dash, but not exactly upon it, they may not have been in violation of any rules or regulations. I tried to suggest that these flowers may still be alive, that there may still have been some life left in them, and I don’t believe this argument was entered into the transcript. Joanne Farrell, the court reporter, would frown in scorn whenever i spoke, making a sour face. I presented this idea myself, that there might be another perspective upon these lovely blue irises, these fine flowers, another way of saying, of seeing them — to be alive. Also, I asked Zadik, and he was indeed kind and gracious enough to present my hypotheses, that perhaps, one could say, the flowers were alive. The flowers were still alive. I do not recall seeing any mention of the interchange nor the concept of flower at all in my preliminary transcript, which was uncorrected. Why were the flowers picked out?

Their exhibit clearly shows the flowers, albeit miscolored I presume. In fact, their exhibit was presented to use these flowers against me, of course. That’s one situation where my old commentary might newly apply, “Smell a rose, go to jail, that’s the law,” I used to say. This phrase applies to a ban on commercial vehicles except to pass through the Golden Gate park, that would render a taxi driver fine and fit to transport to the Rose garden, but criminal for eating her lunch in the vast acreage of the park.

Smell a rose, go to jail, that’s the law.

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[ Page 28 ]

Facts # 1

NO Opening Statement was granted for me, only for the prosecutor. I was kicked off my own counsel in front of the jury. I was assigned the lawyer against my wishes, instead of being able to represent myself. Zadik was forced to take the case in the middle of the trial, ensuring me no opening statement would be presented upon my own case, sadly. I was not made aware, nor did I have any knowledge at the time, that I could ask for a different lawyer.

It was because I was unhappy with Zadik’s performance in the Thigpen trial that I did not feel he could provide me with an adequate defense, and I lost the case. However, I was innocent of those charges. Neither did he follow my wishes to explain that I was not operating as a taxicab at the time, especially and specifically in terms of the manner and means of monetary collection, if any. I made it optional and voluntary. I clearly told people my business had been shut down and I was not accepting payment for taxi fare, and that I was NOT a taxicab. Rather, any PERSONAL (not campaign) contributions were only so I could eat. Essentially, I considered my riders to be hitchhikers.

That Thigpen case would be equivalent and parallel to , say for example, charging me with the crime of operating a cable car illegally, when the reality would be best fathomed if I were considered to be the guy busqueing, that is, playing guitar and begging for money or applause from the folks who could actually afford to ride that noisy thing.

When I was begging Yaggy to allow me to represent myself, no one explained to me nor informed me that I could make a Marsden motion requesting a different lawyer. I just had no idea that I could do that. I didn’t understand what it meant when Zadik stated to Yaggy that I was not making one.(1) I feel that I was not able to provide myself an adequate defense because I was removed from my own counsel. I was doing fine and well, until, against my will and wishes, I was hung out to dry like dirty laundry in front of the jury. Nor was my lawyer able to provide an adequate defense, especially because the prosecution got an opening statement, but I/we did not for my defense. On a more personal not, I was willing to co-counsel with Zadik, which he flatly refused to do. Perhaps next time. My aim was to question Vandebos myself; I thought it was important to question my accuser, to find out why she was so upset before she set foot in or anywhere near my Grasshopper.

[ (1 ) Was that a “sidebar” conference? I recall hearing it , but not reading it in the transcript. Zadik never asked me when Yaggy asked him, he knew i would have asked for a Marsden had i understood what the hell it is…and despite his voiced sentiment at the time, i think he was happy to go along with my persecution and did nothing to change it]

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[ page 29 ]

I learned that she had an injured, sick horse. How awful. Yaggy refused to let Vandebos name her horse upon my query, which I have since learned was Lady Nydia. I don’t know, it probably was not helpful to my actual legal defense at the time to have been appearing to harass Vandebos about her tragic horse accident. I really didn’t think at all that the jury might be sympathetic to the cab driver who has to deal with the pissed off freaking out horse breeder, whom for all he/ I knew, might have had an injured horse named Grasshopper?

I do maintain at this time it was important enough not merely to my defense, but to my sanity and mental well- being despite and throughout all of this madness in the city to at least have gained a better, deeper, personal understanding of some of the dynamics I could only intuit through vague body language at the time when I was having my worst taxicab ride ever. It led me to have sympathy for the devil, this woman whom has destroyed my life. It saddens me to think that this personal shipwreck that has cannonball ’ d upon my ramp van, the harpoon that shredded all of my sails and knocked the wind out of my being, that this destruction propagated upon my person was a sort of continuing ramification of another tragedy which befell another creature.

I expressed concern for the horse, hoping it was doing better. Is this in the record?

Is it on the record that I wouldn’t hurt a fly? As a vegan, it is against my religion. Oh well, perhaps this being vegan is what defines a terrorist? Perhaps the motto , “Do no harm,” can be taken as a threat?

Threat to Public Safety and the Meeting at McDonald’s

Also, the Thigpen Non-Arrest

On July 27th , 2007 , my Grasshopper Taxicab Company was suspended. It was all over. A decade of cab driving, years of working all the time every day to start and keep my business going, and my good name Grasshopper, all gone. It was devastating. But the bills didn’t just disappear. I sometimes would have to resort to begging the cab driver behind me for $5- bucks, talk about humiliating.

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[ page 30 ]

Heidi Machen , executive secretary of the SF Taxi Commission, delivered a letter 7—27 , stating that I was a “threat to public safety,” and thereby being summarily suspended. Again, they’d dropped the charges within several days, but my business remained shut down without any pending conviction or charge. Absent any crime, they had to figure something else out. What could they do? Their tactic was to keep me suspended, and they even got upset that I immediately tried to appeal at the Board of Appeals. They figured if they could keep me shut down long enough, they might find a way to lay some other thing on me, anything at all, so long as it shut me down for good. That was their goal.

Unbeknownst to me at the time, they’d been investigating my cab company, going after the little guy. They tried to get me for crap like not having my way bills filled out, which of course I had filled out, please.! Or other petty stuff like that. They could have saved all that trouble of investigating by just asking me for those way bills. I would have gladly provided them.

Similarly , the cops never asked me to leave Ed Jew’s driveway….

[ \ \ \ to be continued … / / / ]

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[ Note: scKamala Harris initially dropped those charges against me from the sordid Vandebos arrest and torture { upon my being } incident, but my Grasshopper taxicab was shut down, and after i parked in Ed Jew’s driveway, someone had obviously whispered in scKamala’s ear, or leaned on her shoulder, or maybe put a yellow and blue NUKRainian flag in her vision and softly whispered to get that evil Grasshopper, i’ve always wondered WHO it was that spoke to her? Willy Willie Brown? Gavin ? Ed Jew? Who? Who educated scKamala about how dangerous and terrifying it was to allow me to be able to service the public as an ambassador of San Francisco that might get a laugh or smile out of folks visiting , or , hell, even take the fares the shortest possible way? Terrorist indeed. In the interest of public safety, i believe, someone told scKamala to lock my ass up. For the good of public health and well- being they said. Can’t have no goddamm Grasshoppers driving around the elite town of torture. 6-13-2022]

{Never forget that every single democrat voted for war funding, so we can say that world war 3 saved democracy, our only weapon.}