Emergency power and government prohibitions are about power and control. Michigan residents got a big dose of big-government reality when Breitbart reported on the photo of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer sitting at a crowded restaurant table with no mask. That violated the very capacity rule she imposed on everyone else in Michigan — no more than six people at a table. She was in a group twice that size.

While Whitmer’s group did not wear masks, a bouncer at the Landshark — a dive bar in the college town — could be seen with his face covered.

“Last week Whitmer refused to immediately end her ridiculous restrictions, like a maximum of 6 patrons per table for indoor dining,” Tori Sachs, executive director of Michigan Freedom Fund, told Breitbart News.

“Now Whitmer has once again completely disregarded her own rules. Whitmer orders rules she and her staff don’t follow themselves while Michiganders and businesses suffer. Whitmer must end her restrictions immediately.”

Michigan Freedom Fund called on Whitmer to immediately lift all orders this week, a recommendation the governor ignored.

After being caught, Whitmer decided to apologize and rescind the rule, according to the  Detroit News

Michigan’s new COVID-19 health rules, effective June 1, include the elimination of a restriction Gov. Gretchen Whitmer violated over the weekend. 

The epidemic rules released by the state Department of Health and Human Services Monday have dropped requirements that restaurant and bar tables be limited to six people, with each table being six feet apart. 

The governor told the media at a Monday press conference that the determination to eliminate the rule “was made well before the weekend” and prior to her Saturday visit to East Lansing’s Landshark.

Sherepeated apologies for violating her own social distancing rules at the restaurant, but avoided saying whether the restaurant should be fined as other facilities have been for breaking COVID-19 guidelines. 

Hmm. It reminds me of this photo of Gov. Roy Cooper from June 2020 at the height of the pandemic. In the story from which the screen shot below was taken, CBS 17 reported on Cooper joining a crowd of protesters and even taking off his face mask while doing it. Of course the rest of us had been told to stay home, to stay away from people, and warned by the governor and his administration that social distancing and face coverings were vital to prevent the spread of the virus.

One year later, about half of North Carolina adults are vaccinated against COVID-19 and Cooper has finally lifted some of his mask restrictions. Good, even though it should have occurred sooner. But incredibly, Cooper did NOT lift the state of emergency through which he retains power and control over 10 million North Carolinians. Why not? Just like Gov. Whitmer in Michigan, it’s about power and control. Locke CEO Amy Cooke describes it as absurd. She’s right.