Free Republic

A pair of senior partners at the California-based mega-law firm Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith split from the company last month to build their own “compassionate” firm, but internal emails show they used wildly offensive and demeaning language — repeatedly referring to women as “c–ts” and a judge as “sugar t-ts.”

The poet Mary Oliver writes, “I look; morning to night I am never done with looking.” In another of her poems, she writes, “Sometimes I spend all day trying to count the leaves on a tree.” She climbs up the tree in this poem and writes the number of leaves she counts in a book, and when she is done, or gives up trying to count them all, she is “half-crazy at the wonder of it – the abundance of the leaves, the quietness of the branches.” This wonder at the meticulous detail in nature strikes me in Barbara Clements...

Three people have been shot outside of a barbershop following an argument between two men in their 40’s allegedly over who came first in a foot race over a month ago. The incident occurred at approximately 3 p.m. on Saturday, July 10, in northeast Houston when the Houston Police Department received a call regarding a shooting involving several victims outside the Mean Kutz barbershop, according to ABC News' Houston station KTRK.

(23 Aug 2016) GOP vice presidential candidate Mike Pence stopped for a haircut at Pennsylvania barbershop on Tuesday afternoon between campaign stops. The unsuspecting barber cut Pence's hair with no idea who his lone customer for the day was. A representative for the Indiana governor visited the shop in Norristown on Monday and told the owner, Henry Jones, that “his friend needed a haircut.” Jones, who is usually off Tuesdays, spent time discussing their families and sports while Pence sat in the chair for his $20 trim. Jones says Pence didn’t ask for his vote, and he is undecided in...

Ingham County Health Department plans coordinated enforcement in response THURSDAY, Oct. 8 — A Lansing barber is once again flouting COVID-19 precautions, advertising “no mask required” haircuts and telling Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to “suck it.” Brian Caskey, owner of Classic Barber Shop on Michigan Avenue in Lansing, appears to be back in business this week and actively spreading misinformation about statewide and countywide restrictions that still mandate face masks be worn while in indoor public spaces. A post on Caskey’s Facebook page shows a logo for his barbershop, alongside white text that plainly reads “No mask required! Suck it Big...

Prominent Religious Left activist The Rev. Dr. William Barber preached that Christians must support expansive social welfare programs or else be proponents of death. Sprinkling the words of the prophet Amos throughout his thickly political sermon, Barber posited that most injustices are interlocking consequences of a racist history. To resolve this blunt diagnosis of injustice requires an equally blunt solution: Big Government and wealth redistribution. “It is no longer a matter of left or right,” Barber argued from the pulpit of the Episcopal Church’s Washington National Cathedral on June 14, “but life or death.” Barber is the facilitator of the...

Michigan barber Karl Manke scored another victory on Wednesday when the Gretchen Whitmer administration gave up in its quest to prevent him from working. The 77-year-old Owosso barber has repeatedly defeated Gov. Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel in court, and now he has been handed his operating license back. Manke continued to operate his barbershop despite the lockdown and legal threats from Whitmer and Nessel.

In a unanimous 7-0 decision, the Michigan Supreme Court sided with 77-year-old barber Karl Manke over Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Friday. Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel have been relentlessly pursuing Manke, attempting to force the closure of his shop during the coronavirus pandemic. Great Lakes News reported on Facebook late Friday that the Court ruled unanimously in favor of the Owosso barber — a stunning decision, given the narrow 4-3 ideological split in favor of conservatives.

Karl Manke, the 77-year-old folk-hero barber who stood up against the empress governor of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer, has been vindicated in court. A judge ruled on Thursday that the health department failed to show that Manke’s business cutting hair was a specific threat to public health. Manke faced incredible harassment, including police intimidation and losing his license. Not even that stopped him. The Washington Times reported Manke’s reaction. Manke, 77, has received at least two tickets for violating Whitmer’s orders, and his barber license was suspended last week. Nonetheless, he said he’s still cutting hair – “Oh, heavens yes” –...

Karl Manke, a 77-year-old barber in Owosso, Michigan, has defeated Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel in court for the second time in about a week. The Argus-Press reported: Judge Matthew Stewart ruled that Karl Manke will not have to close his shop after the state again failed to prove he was an imminent danger to public health. Stewart said the state did not arrest Manke when he was cited, so he didn’t represent “an imminent health danger.” “(The attorney general) has not presented any studies underlying the doctor’s conclusion. (The attorney general) has not shown any nexus...

A Michigan barber who defied coronavirus stay-at-home orders from Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer stated Thursday that he remains rooted in his convictions. In an interview on "Fox & Friends First" with hosts Jillian Mele and Rob Schmitt, Karl Manke said he's not sure what will happen next. A Shiawassee County Circuit Court judge must rule by 5 p.m. EDT Thursday whether or not Manke's Owosso barbershop should be shut down. "I hope that there's a certain amount of sanity that will prevail," he remarked. "But, so far ... this governor, we've had nothing but trouble with her. The legislatures had...

Barbers gathered outside the Michigan state capitol this week to give free haircuts in defiance of the state’s stay-at-home restrictions. Nearly 400 people attended the demonstration on Wednesday. “Operation Haircut” was organized by the Michigan Conservative Coalition. Protesters have accused Governor Gretchen Whitmer of “killing small businesses” and called the restrictions overbearing. According to Michigan state police, at least three of the barbers were given citations for disorderly conduct.

West Shore barber Brad Shepler has rapidly become a symbol of the growing revolt against Gov. Tom Wolf’s order closing non-life-essential businesses over the coronavirus. That was unmistakable Thursday morning, two days after state officials threatened to revoke Shepler’s barbering license and fine him up to $10,000 a day for reopening his East Pennsboro Township shop in violation of the closure edict. A crowd of several dozen filled the small parking lot of his business, Shep’s Barber Shop, off Wertzville Road to cheer him on. A bevy of Republican legislators, headed by state Sen. Mike Regan, showered Shepler with promises...

This story is getting better and better — for those who enjoy David vs. Goliath contests where Goliath gets a faceful of cow manure from David. That’s what Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer must be feeling like today. The 77-year old barber, Karl Manke, who is defying her executive orders to keep his business closed is beset on all sides by the state. He was taken to court by the state who asked a judge to order Manke to close his doors. The judge refused. Then, Whitmer sicced the Department of Health on him. He refused to comply. Finally, after the...

State regulators on Wednesday suspended the license of a 77-year-old Michigan barber who insisted on cutting hair despite an order to stay closed during the coronavirus pandemic.

Governor Whitmer is losing her tyrannical death-grip on the state of Michigan Is Governor Whitmer’s reign of terror coming to an end? It seems that way. She failed to stop a 77-year-old barber from opening up his shop in a bid to save his livelihood and family. The county sheriff announced that he would not use his manpower to shut down the business. Later, a judge also ruled in the barber’s favor. Now, that very same sheriff has just announced that he will not enforce Whitmer’s “lockdown orders” that have been extended until the end of May. From The Hill:...

A Michigan barber said Sunday he plans to stay open in defiance of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s extended order on nonessential businesses, insisting that the Democratic governor “has no concept at all of the damage she’s doing.” p>Owosso barber Karl Manke, 77, received a cease-and-desist order Friday from the state Department of Health and Human Services, delivered by state police, after his shop reopened Monday. Ms. Whitmer has extended closure of nonessential businesses to May 28. “This has absolutely brought me to my knees. I just couldn’t do that. I’m a small business owner,” said Mr. Manke on “Fox & Friends.”...

OWOSSO, Mich. —Armed members of the Michigan Home Guard stood outside Karl Manke's barber shop, ready to blockade the door if police arrived. They were determined to help Manke, 77, reopen his shop Monday, in defiance of state orders, and dozens joined them, wearing Trump sweatshirts and Trump cowboy hats and waving Trump flags. They gathered not because they desperately needed haircuts but to rail against Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s approach to fighting the coronavirus outbreak in Michigan, one of the nation’s worst hot spots. They were channeling President Trump’s support of such protests, but some also were taking aim...

A Michigan judge has denied a motion made by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration that an Owosso barber close up shop during the coronavirus outbreak. Great Lakes News was outside Karl Manke’s Barber & Beauty Shop on Monday when the ruling came down. Reporter Katie Heid said the judge denied the state’s claim that the 77-year-old Manke to close his shop because he was allegedly in violation of Whitmer’s stay-at-home order. “This is not only a big victory for Mr. Manke, but also for other small businesses,” she said. “Who else will open their doors?” The state Attorney General lost in...

A Michigan barber, who reopened his shop last week in defiance of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s coronavirus lockdown order, said on “Fox & Friends Weekend” on Sunday that the governor “obviously got a little bit mad” when she kept extending the state’s stay-at-home order. Karl Manke, 77, said that when Whitmer signed an executive order last week to extend the state’s stay-at-home order through the end of May for nonessential workers, it “just absolutely brought me to my knees.” He said he “just couldn't” stay closed since he is a small business owner.