Civil Disobedience

[FTL_Ian]

Perhaps you should send out a follow-up press release with that info, letting the press know the cops thave threatened you.

[Michael Fisher]

Perhaps you should send out a follow-up press release with that info, letting the press know the cops thave threatened you.

Good idea!

I just sent notice of this to my contacts at Foster's, the Seacoast Newspapers, and someone at the Union Leader.

Hopefully the turnout will be good for this event.  The risk associated with this event is great and if the turnout and press are good, this will be a success.

There is still not one single business owner I've spoken to that agrees with licensing regulations.  Most are highly opposed to these restrictions.

[Kat Kanning]

Wowie!  Do you want us to bail you out?

[Michael Fisher]

Wowie!? Do you want us to bail you out?

No, please do not bail me out or hire me a lawyer.  I'll be fine. 

I will probably need someone to carpool in order to take my car keys at the event and drive my car back to my house, or temporarily store it at their house, when I am arrested.  Otherwise my car will be towed.

We'll also need to reschedule the event to the next day or the next Monday if the weather is bad.

[Dreepa]

I'll be fine.?

Pun intended?   

[Dreepa]

Perhaps you should send out a follow-up press release with that info, letting the press know the cops thave threatened you.

Make sure you mention that it is the AG's office not the cops.

[FTL_Ian]

Isn't the AG considered the "Top Cop"?

[Dave Ridley]

OK I am back in action for the moment and re-working the press release to include the requested changes.  I'm also going to try and include the latest update regarding the arrest threat.   This is awesome news! 

[Kat Kanning]

Dave will be there?  I'm thinking between Dave and I, we could get your car taken care of, if you need us to, if that suits Dave's plans.  It looks like Russell will be working.  I'm planning on being there with Kira.

What else can I do to help?

[Rocketman]

Isn't the AG considered the "Top Cop"?

Well, according to the intro to Law and Order:

?In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups -- the police who investigate crime, and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders. These are their stories."

Damn, my nails are looking a little rough around the edges... wish I could be there, Mike. 

[Lloyd Danforth]

Kat, did you use 'Russell' and 'working' in the same sentence?

[Russell Kanning]

It sometimes happens...I try not to let anyone see me doing it...hurts my rep

[Russell Kanning]

This is great Mike....these licensing laws must be very very important.
I wonder if the cops will actually do something about you....it will just be more headaches for them.

They have a wonderful choice:
Let you work without a license....which is what we want....we will just extend it to other activities
or
Jail/fine you for just helping other people out...this is going to be fun

I am very glad you are doing this and am proud to be your friend.

Do you want anyone else to join in your illegal activities?
We could all be charging each other to do "tanning" sessions.

[Dave Ridley]

Mike can you approve this revised release so I can start sending it out?    Others are urged to pass it around as well, once Mike approves it.   BTW this is the version for distribution inside New Hampshire; I wil make another version for national consumption.

---

NH AG's office threatens arrest over manicure

Seacoast entrepreneur Mike Fisher doesn't look the part of a manicurist - or an outlaw.  But he's about to become both.

Invoking the patron saint of civil disobedience, Fisher plans to violate New Hampshire's cosmetology laws - right in front of the officials who enforce them.   And representatives of Attorney General Kelly Ayotte have already threatened him with arrest.

Fisher, 23, of Newmarket, says he is so exasperated with state regulations on small businesses that the time has come to simply flout them.

His plan is to show up in front of the New Hampshire Board of Barbering, Cosmetology and Esthetics, a bureaucracy that regulates nail salons. There, he says, he will administer a manicure - for profit - "regardless of what they threaten me with."

After deciding his course of action, Fisher sent the Board a note informing them he would be showing up at their office to break the law they enforce.   That triggered a call from the Attorney General's office; one of their investigators informed  Fisher police would be present and he would be arrested immediately if he attempted to perform an unlicensed manicure.

Fisher says he got the idea from watching the movie "Ghandi."

"The British government (In India) had salt licensing laws," he says. "You could not make salt without a license. Now we cannot cut nails without a license, and I really don't see the difference."

A computer repairman, Fisher admits that until April he didn't know first thing about manicuring but has now learned the basics.   He points out that anyone who *does* want to work as a manicurist would not be able to stand up to the Board the way he is doing. "They could lose their ability to get a license." he says. 

It's the principle of the thing that bothers Fisher and a desire to see a rollback of state restrictions on most industries.  "In a free country," he growls "people do not need permission to start a business."

As in most states, it is a misdemeanor in New Hampshire to administer a manicure without a license.  An increasing number of other small business activities also require licenses.  Fisher believes these simply provide a barrier to entry for young entrepreneurs like himself without effectively protecting the consumer or the public.  "Private institutions and competition are more effective protectors of the customer," he adds, "and these are both weakened when government tries to do the job."

Supporters are invited to attend, join the fun and witness Fisher's act of civil disobedience.  But you do not have to disobey the law yourself unless you wish to man the tweezers!  The event will be on Monday, May 9, at noon, at or near the NH Board of Cosmetology at 2 Industrial Park Drive, Concord, NH 03301.

Summary:

What:  Civil disobedience against "manicure law"
Why:  To call attention to state govt. overregulation of small business
How:  By delivering a manicure without a license
Where: At or near the enforcing bureacracy: NH Board of Barbering, 2 Industrial Park Drive, Concord, NH 03301
When: Monday, May 9, noon (in the event of extreme weather, call the numbers below for a status report)
Who: Mike Fisher, supporters from NHfree.com, whoever wants to join us.   Expected turnout: 10-20
Contact: Mike Fisher, 603-498-7935   Backup:  Dave Ridley 603-721-1490

[Russell Kanning]

"A computer repairman, Fisher admits that until April he didn't know first thing about manicuring"
know [the] first thing

I think that sounds better.

I like this press release even better than the first one.