Civil Disobedience

[Michael Fisher]

You are going to drink water right?
Gandhi was even smaller than you and he went for quite a long time.
Don't Muslims fast for like 40 days each year?

Yes, I'll consume water and salt to stay alive. ?It is necessary to drink a lot of water when fasting for more than a week, even if it is nauseating. ?When coming out of the fast, you start with simple fruit juice for a little while and go from there. ?It would be interesting to learn more about how this is done just incase it is necessary.

My research suggests Gandhi weighed 105-112 pounds at any given time. ?I weigh 110-115, so I should be able to handle 1 week with no problem, 2 weeks with some problems, and 3 weeks could be risking death, but it's possible as well. ?A 3-week fast would be a once or twice in a lifetime event, and would only be done for an extreme purpose.

[Russell Kanning]

I was thinking he was like 80 lbs. ....have you seen how short that guy was?
We just watched a documentary about him. I thought the narrator/journalist said 80.

[Russell Kanning]

So if you went to jail for 30 days....your marriage would be over?

[Michael Fisher]

So if you went to jail for 30 days....your marriage would be over?

I would hope not, but my wife would be in very serious financial danger, and the possible result of 30 days in jail would be unknown.

[Russell Kanning]

It is big isn't it......this crazy tilting at windmills.
What did they pledge in the Declaration of Independence ... "our lives our fortunes and our sacred honor"?

[mvpel]

You are going to drink water right?
Gandhi was even smaller than you and he went for quite a long time.
Don't Muslims fast for like 40 days each year?

You're thinking of Ramadan - the fast is only from sunup to sundown during that month, and there's usually a meal taken before dawn and a convivial feast each evening, and a three day holiday & feast at the first day of the following month - Id-al-Fitr (the Feast of Fast Breaking).

http://www.dailyfreepress.com/media/paper87/news/2004/10/25/News/Ramadan.Feast.Draws.300-779597.shtml

[Michael Fisher]

Exactly.

Now that I think about it, I may need to fast for up to a week if the result of Myrtle Woodward's battle is too much to bear. ?I would not have much choice, considering that all other options are nearly exhausted.

[Michael Fisher]

Gandhi's Fasts and Reasons
http://www.gurjari.net/ico/Indian_hero/Gandhi/g_fast.htm

Gandhi's Arrests and Imprisonment
http://www.gurjari.net/ico/Indian_hero/Gandhi/arrest.htm

[Michael Fisher]

Can someone put me in touch with the Woodward family so I can find out their status and discuss their options with them?

[ethanpooley]

One common method of fasting includes drinking fruit juices, which removes much of the health dangers but doesn't change much else.

[Michael Fisher]

One common method of fasting includes drinking fruit juices, which removes much of the health dangers but doesn't change much else.

Unfortunately, that is not a true fast.   

[davemincin]

Hey Mike, of course it is your call, but my thinking is family always comes first!

Perhaps after things die down a bit, take a bit of a low profile, and most of all
stay out of jail!

[Michael Fisher]

Can someone put me in touch with the Woodward family so I can find out their status and discuss their options with them?

Okay, I just e-mailed her about it.  Hopefully she will welcome my support.  There are few options left for her. 

[Michael Fisher]

From the front page of the Exeter Newsletter today:

http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/exeter/05132005/news/42145.htm

Hanging up emery board

By Johanna Maranto
newsletter@seacoastonline.com

NEWMARKET - Mike Fisher said this week that he is "satisfied" with the results he received from his illegal manicure in Concord Monday, and said he plans no further action.

Fisher was given a 30-day suspended sentence Wednesday after he pleaded guilty to the criminal misdemeanor of providing manicure services without a license.

Fisher was arrested Monday when he manicured a friend?s nails without a license in front of the state Board of Barbering, Cosmetology and Esthetics offices in Concord.

Fisher, a free-state advocate, said his actions received the radio, television and newspaper coverage he had wanted. "I hope people are debating this issue, considering if these licensing laws are necessary," he said.

Fisher gave the public manicure in a planned act of civil disobedience, in order to protest licensing laws that he believes infringe upon civil rights.

Fisher said the judge Wednesday made a point of telling him that if he gets even so much as a traffic ticket in the next year, he will go to jail.

Fisher said he was amazed that he received such a large sentence for such a minor offense, especially in light of the fact that it was made clear to the judge that Fisher had no prior criminal record. Fisher said 30 days was the maximum sentence for his crime.

If Fisher were to be jailed for 30 days, he said it would jeopardize his new computer trouble-shooting business, as he would be unable to pay the bills if he couldn?t work. Because he feels the sentence is unwarranted, he may consult an attorney to see if the sentence can be appealed.

Meanwhile, a petition for an injunction against his planned action, filed by the attorney general?s office last week and then withdrawn, was not reinstated before his action on Monday.

The petition says, "The state believes that the threat of criminal sanctions may deter the respondent from his threatened unlawful activity ? " Fisher said the petition was drafted following a conversation he had with the attorney general?s office. "I said to them ?yes? - 15 times in a row - ?yes, absolutely, I will go through with it.?" Fisher said.

Fisher cannot understand how this response could have been interpreted as being unclear. The attorney general?s office declined comment.

Although some of his friends are planning to follow up his action with sanctioned political activities toward changing the laws, Fisher is finished.

"The only reason I came to Concord was to make a point. I?ll follow up with nothing. I just wanted people to talk about this. I don?t have a further plan," Fisher said.

[Michael Fisher]

Hey Mike, of course it is your call, but my thinking is family always comes first!

Perhaps after things die down a bit, take a bit of a low profile, and most of all stay out of jail!

Agreed.

I do not believe that a prolonged fast would harm my family or business, but they do come first!