NH: Free Stater protest generates heavy media coverage

[DadaOrwell]

New Hampshire's "outlaw manicurist" Mike Fisher got what he was after this week...his own arrest and a new focus on the legitimacy of business licensing.
His goal was to deliver a message: "In a free country, you do not need the government's permission to start a business."

On Monday May 9, Fisher chose to perform a manicure without a license, in front of the New Hampshire Board of Barbering. He had vowed to continue doing so "until they force me to stop" and was as good as his word. After giving him multiple avenues for retreat, Concord police reluctantly cuffed the 23-year-old Free Stater after he told them he would not voluntary stop performing the manicures nor appear in court if summoned.

Fisher had to spend one day in Merrimack county jail, but by the 11th his defiance of authority had generated coverage from every major media outlet in New Hampshire and many others outside the state. He made the front page of the state's main paper (the Union Leader), received hours of news and talk attention on the state's primary talk radio stations and was on the evening news at least three times WMUR, New Hampshire's main TV station. On Wednesday the Union Leader published a double-sized editorial against overzealous licensing and a sympathetic political cartoon depicting Fisher on a wanted poster.

At least 5 TV stations outside New Hampshire reported the event, as did The Liberator Online. The Free Staters themselves have a syndicated radio show which airs in about 9 markets around the U.S.; coverage there lasted all week.

Virtually all of the media attention was positive or neutral.

A sampling of coverage:

http://www.soulawakenings.com/under...p?page=Activists+to+Defy+State+Licensing+Laws

The question no one knows the answer to is...what's next?

More information on the libertarian migration to New Hampshire:
www.FreeStateProject.org

 

[ludahai]

I am not surprised at the media attention. The Union Leader has long been a paper editorially against the interference of government in people's personal business. This sounds exactly like the type of think Neal Boortz would follow up on.

 

[DadaOrwell]

Hi ludahi! Thanks for the kind words. I've been thinking about Taiwan quite a bit btw myself lately... Wondering if their gun laws are loose enough to help deter invasion? Admiral Yamamoto once said "You cannot invade the mainlaind United States, there would be a rifle behind every blade of grass." In the event, they were afraid to even invade Hawaii.

I wonder if Bejing's admirals have reason to say the same thing about Taiwan?

 

[ludahai]

Hi ludahi! Thanks for the kind words. I've been thinking about Taiwan quite a bit btw myself lately... Wondering if their gun laws are loose enough to help deter invasion? Admiral Yamamoto once said "You cannot invade the mainlaind United States, there would be a rifle behind every blade of grass." In the event, they were afraid to even invade Hawaii.

I wonder if Bejing's admirals have reason to say the same thing about Taiwan?

Sadly, no. Private gun ownership is generally prohibited in Taiwan.

 

[DadaOrwell]

Outlaw Manicurist pledges "prolonged fast" if jailed

Update:

As you may recall, Fisher received a suspended 30 day sentence for his act of defiance. If he so much as gets a traffic ticket this year he supposedly will have to serve a full month in the slammer.

That gave him an idea...

Assuming he gets the ticket and has to report for jail time, he is going to refuse food and water during at least part of his stay. He hasn't said specifically how long he would fast, though. Fisher only weighs about 115 pounds, so it's thought that anything over two weeks would be risky.

 

[Squawker]

Could you explain to me how this is supposed to further your cause? From where I sit, it looks like your a group of trouble makers. :doh

 

[DadaOrwell]

Could you explain to me how this is supposed to further your cause? From where I sit, it looks like your a group of trouble makers. :doh

Thanks for the kind words squawker

I have a saying: Don't trust headlines. Trust history.

Historically, these types of activities (civil disobedience, fasting) have been successful when one follows the Gandhi model. It helped get the British out of India and official segregation out of the South.

In the short term it draws publicity, the oxygen of every rebellion. In the mid and long term it can generate out-and-out victory.

It's offense, not defense.

 

[DadaOrwell]

Now Mike's protest is bearing fruit in the New Hampshire legislature:

From NHfree.com
Derry, New Hampshire
7/22/05

Legislator to sponsor "Outlaw Manicurist" bill


Over two months after going to jail for performing an unlicensed manicure, Newmarket resident Mike Fisher is still reaping rewards for his sacrifice. This week State Representative Paul Hopfgarten publicly announced he would sponsor legislation easing barriers to entry for aspiring manicurists and other cosmetic startups.

"We'd need to craft it in such a way that it would be palatable to the majority of the House and Senate," writes the Derry Republican, "but YES, I would be willing to sponsor."

On May 9, Fisher appeared outside the the Board of Barbering, Cosmetology, and Esthetics office in Concord and began administering for-profit manicures without a license. Board representatives called police, who then cuffed and jailed him when he refused to stop. Fisher aimed to draw attention to the idea that "in a free country, you do not need permission from the government to start a business." He succeeded in achieving statewide headlines, but now he's achieved something more: the promise of legislative action to ease business regulation.

"I think that would be awesome," says Fisher. "It's a very hopeful development to see that we're getting support from all different types of people."

The exact wording has yet to be determined. But Fisher has said he hopes the bill will significantly reduce the number of hours of training required to attain a license from the Board and limit required training to issues that have to do with customer safety only. Currently the state requires hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars worth of schooling to buff a nail for profit.

Fisher says activists with the New Hampshire Liberty Alliance (nhliberty.org) are also working on a supportive bill which would establish a commission to review business licensing in general. Only a small fraction of bills become state law, but activists say it is a victory just to see Fisher's defiance translated into potential legislation.