I have been dealing with these
harassment issues for going on ten years now, and I will NOT allow my art cars
to be shut down. Just about EVERYONE
loves art cars - not only mine, but all of them. I
am not just fighting for my rights here, but for everyone's. This year,
the Houston Art Car Parade was
a month earlier than usual, so I headed directly from
Court in NH to Houston, TX, and on April 11, 2015, we WON the First Place
Free Speech Trophy!
Pic of me with Freedom Van is at www.libertyvan.com/ . In 2011, my
Liberty Van and Freedom Van TIED for
Yes, sadly, I am a convicted criminal because of Christmas
lights on my mini-van in Wyoming (red or blue light visible from front or rear)
about 6 yrs ago,
but the judge laughed and
suspended the fine. Am currently appealing my conviction for PINK
Valentine lights on Freedom Van in Kingwood, WV in the
WV Supreme Court.
BUT appeals court in PA overturned all my (almost a
dozen tickets & nearly $3,000 in fines) Christmas lights conviction in
Carlisle, PA
on Oct. 1, 2013.
And, I won the latest one (till now) in VA, on my way to
CPAC last year (red & blue lights). I have in fact I've won
ALL the others, including
getting some thrown out by
WISE prosecutors in Milton, WV, and Marietta, GA (Freedom Van, about 4 years
ago) before they went to court. Prosecutors ALSO take the oath
to DEFEND THE US CONSTITUTION.
BTW my driving record is SQUEAKY CLEAN
- (click here to see it!). Kind of AMAZING, considering
I've put over half a MILLION MILES on TWO of these vans, in the past
NINE YEARS, through 48 STATES. Fortunately, MY state does not bother to put
Christmas lights
convictions from other states on there. And,
Christmas lights is just about my favorite excuse to park one of these vans
right in front of a
courthouse, hand out lots of flyers (and maybe FREE
t-shirts, flags, or maybe flowers & candy if it's Valentine's Day), and
maybe get
the van on TV or in the newspaper again <VBG> Since
I'm RETIRED, that works for me : )
I HOPE THE GOOD PEOPLE OF GORHAM SLEEP BETTER AT
NIGHT,
KNOWING THIS POLICE DEPT. IS ALL OVER THREATS FROM
GRANDMAS IN ART CARS (I WAS ON MY WAY TO SEE GRANDKIDS IN VT)
BUT, BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHES, GORHAM, I HAVE ZERO
TOLERANCE FOR HARASSMENT, AND YOUR POLICE DEPT. HAS HANDED ME
AN EXCUSE TO COME BACK TO GORHAM. COURT IS AS GOOD
AN EXCUSE FOR A ROAD TRIP AS ANYTHING. NOT SURE IF I WILL HAVE
LIBERTY VAN NEXT TIME (THIS ONE HAS
410,000 MILES ON IT NOW). I MAY RETURN WITH FREEDOM VAN,
MY OTHER FREE SPEECH
TROPHY WINNING ART CAR - YUP, SOMEONE'S
WORST NIGHTMARE, I'M SURE - I HAVE TWO OF THESE outrageous vehicles : ) <G>
I was actually thinking the Gorham police dept. must not have nearly
enough real crime to fight, they must have been bored silly to take on so
over a grandma in an art car - then I found this.
Check out discussion on page 3 of city council meeting minutes, where they are
considering
having officers on call, rather than patrolling full time
(to save $!!!). Also, note mention of 50
mile limit on driving per shift/per officer to SAVE $$$$ LOL
These expenses (plus a $7,000 bill to get Liberty Van out of the shop - she
was down all summer) used up the last of my inheritance and retirement
funds.
I will continue to spend whatever I have, or whatever I can raise.
Every little bit helps - but you may not see these vans on the road so much, if
I can't even
find gas money, or pay repair bills. I will never surrender, nor will
I ever give up. I WILL MANAGE TO GET TO COURT NO MATTER WHAT,
however, do not have $ to hire defense attorney this time. REALLY
REALLY NEED TO SUE THESE PEOPLE. THEY ARE TRYING TO
SHUT ME DOWN BY ATTEMPTING TO BANKRUPT ME.
FYI, I am getting NO government handouts of any kind - have not even
applied for SS yet. Found out in November (after I ran out of $)
that I need a new hip, and am not going to get it soon (if ever) as I would
not touch Obama'care' with a ten foot pole. It is one thing if
people voluntarily would like to help me continue with my calling to stand
up for Freedom of SPEECH (I can do that just fine with a bad hip
<G>),
and quite another to know that my government is using their POLICE POWER to
STEAL from my 6 hardworking children (let alone
everyone else's hard working children). I believe the BIBLE, and it
says, 'You shall not steal' (I have that on BOTH vans, and the
entire 10 Commandments is on the hood of the Freedom Van). It does
NOT say 'except from the rich', nor 'except if you are elected
to public office'. It also does NOT say 'except if you vote people
into office so they will STEAL IT FOR you', nor does it say
'except if you REALLY REALLY NEED it'. I have been doing what I
feeled CALLED to do, and I will continue doing that
any way I can, so long as God continues to give me the strength. We
are getting by well enough on my husband's small
pension.
I haven't had alcohol since 1978, and GOD did that for me, NOT a government
prohibition. When on the road, I almost
never use motels (my vans are mini-motor homes), and I bring almost all my
food - so nothing anyone shares with me will
Mailed
1/20/2015 ~ I will be there with bells on (literally - both my art vans have
bells & wind chimes on them). Note, the fine for having some strings of
(MULTIcolored!) Christmas lights on my mini-van is $250, MORE than my current
MONTHLY INCOME. I am currently looking for atty to SUE the City of Gorham, NH,
and their police chief, Cyr. I was told by one officer (Officer Imperial) during
the course of an entire night of harassment by SEVERAL Gorham police officers,
that he was acting on the orders of Police Chief Cyr, when he threatened to
violate my 14th Amendment rights. He threatened to impound The Liberty Van,
which is my home away from home. I am a 63 year old grandma, I was ALL alone,
1,200 miles from home, except for 4 baby 11 week old Afghan Hound puppies. He
threatened to confiscate MY PROPERTY, with NO 'DUE PROCESS OF LAW', and leave us
(me and puppies) stranded on the street, without shelter, at about MIDNIGHT, in
14 degrees. Then this officer, and several other officers proceeded to pound on
my doors, wake me up, & chase me from one parking place to another about
every two hours for the rest of the night. This has NEVER happened before, with
ANY law enforcement. About 3am (temp. now 7 dg), Officer Imperial (plus another
one from the nearby town of Berlin) pounded on my door and chased me from the
Walmart parking lot, after he'd earlier told me I was allowed to park there. He
SAID it was because someone from Walmart complained, but I was NOT able to
verify that when I spoke to a manager there in the morning. I have been parking
my dog vans overnight at Walmarts from coast to coast for about 20 years now.
Liberty Van had nearly 410,000 miles on her this night, and has spent COUNTLESS
nights in Walmart parking lots when she's on the road for the past TEN YEARS.
Freedom Van, my other award winning art car/dog van, at 4.5 years old, has over
160,000 miles on her, and she too has spent countless nights in Walmart parking
lots. I've never had a problem with Walmart with EITHER van. BOTH are set as
mini-motor homes. Between motels that don't want dogs, and motels that don't
want smokers, I've saved 10s of 1000s of dollars by not bothering with them. It
has also saved me a ton of aggravation, when I have baby puppies with me, it is
MUCH easier to get them outside in the middle of the night if I have to. I put
my big yellow 'DON'T TREAD ON ME' snake flag (the SAME ONE someone gave me on
9/12/2009, in front of he Capitol Building in Washington DC!) on the roof,
before proceeding to where Officer Imperial now told me I could park, at a park
on the square in downtown Gorham. It was dark, I didn't know the area, plus it
was ALL covered with snow, so I did the best I could to park where I was
supposed to. Put my curtains up again, & got back to sleep about 4am, to be
RUDELY awakened about 5:30 by yet more Gorham officers - I didn't bother going
back to sleep this time. The people who have to live with oath breaker law
enforcement have a serious problem. Denying the US Constitution is the supreme
law of the land; they refuse to uphold citizen's Constitutional rights, though
they took a solemn OATH to DEFEND THAT CONSTITUTION. What are these officers
(and a Police Chief!), who are unwilling to use discretion, and set priorities,
and overlook a harmless grandma with some Christmas lights on a mini-van, who is
OBVIOUSLY EXERCISING FREEDOM OF SPEECH going to do if their State Legislature
passes (or our President takes his magic pen and writes) an unconstitutional law
that violates citizen's SECOND Amendment RIGHTS? WILL THEY START A BLOODY CIVIL
WAR??? As a mom of 6, and grandma of 10, that SCARES ME. Since I had gotten this
citation, I had to stay around overnight, to find the courthouse in the morning,
also take care of this in case I was required to appear in person within a short
time. When dealing with this sort of thing hundreds (or in this case more than
1,000) miles from home, it is MUCH more efficient than leaving, and having to
come back. Also, my art car had identified yet another area of UNconstitutional
law enforcement. Liberty Van and Freedom Van are a bit like lightning rods. They
have NOT been harassed in 99.9999 percent of places, over the past 9+ YEARS, and
over a HALF MILLION MILES, through 48 STATES. This particular ticket is the
FIRST one in past 9 months, and about 60,000 miles traveled, THROUGH ABOUT 40
STATES. Harassment is a TWO WAY street. It is my policy NOT to leave immediately
when I've been harassed, and to come back as often as possible thereafter. If
they had not given me this citation, I would have been OUT of NH in about 20
minutes (and they probably would not have seen me again till next year's annual
trip), as I was on my way to my 5 oldest grandkids in VT. I have been driving
THIS van WITH LIGHTS, across NH every year for the past TEN YEARS - through
Gorham, and usually at NIGHT. I took pics of her all lit up in front of the NH
Statehouse in Concord just a couple of days ago, on New Year's Eve. This is the
FIRST TIME I've EVER been harassed either in NH or on my annual NE tour. These
people egregiously violated my rights as a citizen of the USA, and I can no
longer afford the costs of trips, attorneys, and the medical expenses I have
already had due to this one. I have a doctor bill because the stress of all this
caused me to break out in shingles for the first time ever, 3 days later.
LEGAL DEFENSE - had another $10,000 in lawyer bills in October,