Free Republic

A pastor in Louisiana, who was placed under house-arrest for repeatedly flouting social distancing guidelines amid the coronavirus crisis, stepped out and hosted a Sunday service with a significant number of attendees.

A judge ordered a Dallas salon to shut down immediately after the owner reopened in defiance of county and state restrictions. Shelley Luther said she's planning to open again Wednesday anyway.

VACAVILLE, Calif. (KRON) – A Vacaville hair stylist is defying the shelter-in-place order amid the coronavirus pandemic. On Tuesday, she re-opened her salon to existing clients despite not being an essential business.​ KRON4’s Philippe Djegal reports the woman is willing to risk a fine or the possibility of her business being shut down.

Martin “Modey” Hicks, the mayor of Grants, New Mexico, has had enough of the mandate that businesses remain closed in the name of countering coronavirus. Russell Contreras reported last week at the Associated Press that Hicks, in defiance of an ongoing shutdown order from New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, “said he’s giving businesses permission to reopen on Monday and is ordering the police force in the city of about 9,000 people to prevent any State Police officers from issuing lockdown violation citations.” Contreras reports that 81 businesses in Grants had “signed a petition calling for the reopening of the...

HERE HERE! Bravo to a man who understands the Constitution and is fighting “FOR THE PEOPLE” not against them. That would be Franklin County Sheriff Scott Nichols of Maine. A battle is brewing between the County and the State of Maine after Maine’s Democrat Governor Janet Mills issued a very strict “stay at home” order.

The owner of Cook’s Barbershop in Collinsville opened his doors Monday, despite Governor Kay Ivey’s order to stay closed until May 1.

One defiant NYC business owner — who’s been deemed “non-essential” during the pandemic — has a message to New York: “I’m opening my doors come hell or high water.” Eliot Rabin, whose Upper East Side boutique, Peter Elliot, is known for high-end men’s and boys apparel, refuses to follow a state order closing retail business not considered essential. He insists that his $85 pocket squares and $15,000 suits are part of the fabric of New York City: “Why is a liquor store essential and I’m not?” Rabin told The Post.

Rice Brothers Brazilian Jiu Jitsu owner Tanner Rice shouted at the top of his lungs as grapplers followed his commands Monday morning. Sixteen people — each paired with a partner — wrestled and tangled in each other's gi. Hands and arms wrapped around arms and ankles, as is routine in the sport of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. The sport exemplifies the opposite of what it means to socially distance under the CDC's guidelines to avoid being exposed to the coronavirus and stem the spread of the contagious respiratory illness. Gov. Gavin Newsom's stay-home orders in March shut down gyms and fitness...

RIO RANCHO, N.M. (AP) — The mayor of a small New Mexico city promised a confrontation Monday between his small police force and State Police as he seeks to lift a COVID-19 lockdown order that shuttered nonessential businesses to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Grants Mayor Martin “Modey” Hicks vowed last week he would allow all small businesses to reopen in defiance of the governor’s order to keep them closed during the health emergency. The move comes as some rural communities across the country are pressuring their state and local officials to allow them to reopen their towns amid...

Gym owner defies Governor's order, plans to reopen this week

MADISON, Miss. — A Madison barbershop owner said he was frustrated and tired of keeping his business closed while others remained open for business, so he opened his doors. “We have got a lot of single people who want to go to work. They have got children. They have no other income. There are no employees that have been forced to go to work. These are all the employees here that want to work,” barbershop owner Mike Land said.

From our favorite South Korean Scottish Fold cat family. The "Butler" (human servant) touches the paws of his 5 kitties to watch their reactions. Video, 4 minutes, 23 seconds

ALGONQUIN, IL - Republican and conservative action committee Freedom Movement USA will be in Algonquin Sunday hosting an 'Open Illinois Now' rally from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. to protest the state's extended stay-at-home order due to the coronavirus pandemic. According to the committee's event Facebook page, the group plans to protest at Randall and County Line roads while gathering at a six-foot distance. According to Freedom Movement USA Chairman Brandon Harris is calling on others to hold protests, "Rather than continuing to abide by unconstitutional shutdowns," according to a statement written by Harris on the committee's Facebook page. "While...

The Washington Post “Fact Checker” has a very strange and unfactual way of reacting to Democrats telling voters and interest groups they want no restrictions on abortion. They think it’s a “lie” to say these Democrats support abortion up until birth. They gave three “Pinocchios” [mostly false] for this statement: Virtually every Democrat candidate has declared their unlimited support for extreme late-term abortion, ripping babies straight from the mother’s womb, right up until the very moment of birth.” — President Trump, at a campaign rally in Charlotte, March 2, 2020 Salvador Rizzo is doing this “fact check” on April 28,...

Today, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released its advance estimate of U.S. GDP for the first quarter of 2020. BEA estimates that real GDP contracted 4.8 percent at an annual rate in the first quarter of 2020, the first decline in six years. In comparison, real GDP expanded 2.5 percent annually over the first three years of the Trump Administration.This release confirms that COVID-19’s unprecedented adverse shock to the economy brought an end to the longest economic expansion in U.S. history. Consumer spending declined sharply, contributing -5.3 percentage points to the first quarter’s contraction. This rapid shift in...

PROTECTING MEAT SUPPLIES: President Donald J. Trump is using the Defense Production Act to ensure that Americans have a reliable supply of products like beef, pork, and poultry. President Trump is signing an Executive Order providing the authority to ensure the continued supply of beef, pork, and poultry to the American people.Under the order, the Department of Agriculture is directed to ensure America’s meat and poultry processors continue operations uninterrupted to the maximum extent possible. To ensure worker safety, these processors will continue to follow the latest guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the...

April 28, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – Catastrophe brings reflection. What is most precious to me? What have I taken for granted? And ideally, the number one issue, am I following God’s will for my life? I share some nostalgia for “the way things were.” Churches and vacation Bible schools packed with families and children. Holiday parties where people don’t hesitate to hug each other. Birthdays at noisy, fun restaurants with friends and family. Plane trips where the main worry is making your connection. But is all America’s recent past worth recapturing? If we’re revising life-as-usual, maybe we have a chance to...

https://twitter.com/i/status/1255612322338369537 Amazing video on the street in locked down Las Vegas. Man is singing with microphone from the back of his truck. Rather than arresting the man, the law enforcement officer respects the Constitution and actually joins in the singing.

East Room 3:16 P.M. EDT  THE PRESIDENT:  Well, thank you very much everyone.  This is a great honor.  And I see you have social distance on your mind and that’s a very good thing.  Jovita, congratulations.  Tremendous job you’re doing.I want to thank everyone for being at the White House — a very special house, a very special place.  No matter where you go in the world, they love the White House.  And being here in the East Room of the White House in particular, where so many important functions have taken place over the years.And today, we’re really...

HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) — More than a month into the statewide school closure, state Education Secretary Pedro Rivera says with current data, he doesn’t see schools reopening in the fall. “We’re preparing for the best, but we’re planning for the worst,” Rivera said. He said schools across the commonwealth have stepped up by providing continuity of education through online and print materials, as well as programming broadcast on public television. “At the end of the day, we’re going to make sure that the health and welfare of our students is first and foremost, front and center,” Rivera said. “And we’re...