After talking to a large animal vet back in November, I knew Jonathan didn’t have much time left, but I wasn’t sure exactly what the end would look like for him. He’s had a couple more of those fainting spells, but on those occasions I was able to help him up. But last week he was uninterested in his feed, then on Thursday our neighbor who borrows barn space from us came by and found him lying on the barn floor, refusing to get up. It was very obvious he was suffering, so the neighbor offered to have his son-in-law, who is good at such things, come over to put him down. A few years ago, we rented an earth-mover to do a few things, and Grace dug a big hole out front we were planning to use to put a transplanted rhododendron in. But due to miscommunication, she dug the hole much too deep, and due to other issues we never got the rhododendron, so we’ve had a pit large enough for a llama out there ever since. I therefore accepted the neighbor’s help, and he used his tractor to bury Jonathan in the pit. He had a good life, and it was his time, but it’s going to seem rather strange to have no llamas around for the first time in 20 years. And now that Trip and Speck are the only two beings left who moved here with me from Oklahoma, it does contribute to the strange yet not upsetting feeling that my world is contracting, as it so often does as we move slowly toward the day when we, too, must pass.
Posted in Diary, Philosophy | Tagged animals, Grace, Oklahoma, psychology, Sunset | Leave a Comment »
You don’t fucking hate them enough. – “Officer” Michael Kennedy
I’ve always counted Warner Brothers’ Merrie Melodies as the first music videos (short films intended to market a song), but I recently discovered this video, which pushes the mark back almost as far as it can go, to barely after the advent of sound movies. This is a sequence from King of Jazz (1930), a two-strip technicolor feature which is apparently a compilation of such videos; this is an abridged arrangement of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, and I’ve recently added the disc to my Amazon wishlist because I’d love to see the whole thing. The links above the video were provided by Shiv Ramdas; Nun Ya; IncarcerNation; Radley Balko; Popehat; C.J. Ciaramella; Jesse Walker and Franklin Harris, in that order.
- As one does.
- I hate it when this happens.
- Another case of driving while black.
- The puritans are really out of control.
- Another great moment in artificial stupidity.
- Another cop demonstrating exactly what he is.
- R.I.P. Marjane Satrapi and Anthony Stuart Head.
From the Archives
- Sleeping with a cop is one of the most dangerous things a woman can do.
- HuffPost asked several well-known sex workers about the the Trump trial.
- Pornhub has repeatedly & commendably refused to facilitate state spying.
- How long will Western society allow cops to terrorize traumatized women?
- Prison bureaucrats quash information about the conditions in their cages.
- Every Friday 13th, I ask those who aren’t sex workers to stand up for us.
- Cops, artificial stupidity, Prentis Hancock, Clifton Jones, and much more.
- If cops weren’t allowed to rob people, there’d been nothing to embezzle.
- Maine is once again attempting to impose Swedish-style criminalization.
- Government reform policies, like other political promises, are worthless.
- Some believe they can live forever by eliminating all pleasure from life.
- The only way to stop these maniacs is to hit them where it hurts most.
- Cops, Rube Goldberg, Pat Robertson, Barry Newman, and much more.
- Politicians so mindlessly censorious they imagined they could win this.
- Give aggressive thugs power over kids; what could possibly go wrong?
- The State tortures thousands of people for crossing an imaginary line.
- Don’t teach kids about sex; fill their heads with anti-sex propaganda.
- Musk steals every American’s data to feed his surveillance machine.
- Why are people shocked when men paid to behave violently, so so?
- Just when you thought this kangaroo court couldn’t sink any lower…
- As I keep saying: these algorithms are not “intelligent” in any way.
- If one virus can be cured this way, there is hope for others as well.
- Amateurs could learn so much about safer sex from professionals.
- Censors now pretend thoughts they don’t like constitute a “crime”.
- It’s rare these days to see a judge side with justice against power.
- Prosecutors have backed away from labeling this “sex trafficking”.
- Other California cops are learning from drone-happy Chula Vista.
- There’s psychopathy and there’s pure evil, and then there’s this.
- Any country which does this has no business calling itself “free”.
- Too many people still believe in the innate goodness of religion.
- Crypto-moralists will declare any widely-enjoyed food “unsafe”.
- The people the government empowers to police your sexuality.
- For a warden to be charged, there must be much more to this.
- Hordes of useful idiots want this kind of repression in the US.
- Another shameless reminder that I depend on your support.
- Oh look, it’s what I was saying FOUR FUCKING YEARS AGO.
- Kansas politicians want to circumvent the will of the voters.
- Government will always use any excuse to expand tyranny.
- Texas cops are trying to pretend this isn’t hate-motivated.
- A society can be judged by the way it treats its prisoners.
- Cops should not be allowed anywhere near legal minors.
- Another of “rescue” conman Tim Ballard’s many frauds.
- Throwback Thursday vs. the Creature from Blood Cove.
- Is an “associate pastor” anything like a “youth pastor”?
- Life now for the subjects of a surveillance state.
- Your “leaders” want this to happen more often.
- Cops, punctuation, kung fu, and much more.
- I’m glad to see FIRE getting involved in this.
- The worst sinus allergy I’ve ever endured.
- Cops are a menace to women of all ages.
- On the occasion of Grace’s 66th birthday.
- A welcome visit from two dear friends.
- Throwback Thursday vs Frankenstein.
- Introducing Throwback Thursdays.
- How to be a stupid, greedy whore.
- A simple stile does the job.
- The vestibule shapes up.
- Your “leaders” at work.
- Gere Curam Mei Finis.
I find paywalls distasteful, and so many people find this blog valuable as a resource I just can’t bring myself to install one. Furthermore, I find ad delivery services (whose content I have no say over) even more distasteful. But as I’m now semi-retired from sex work, I can’t self-sponsor this blog by myself any longer. So if you value my writing enough that you would pay to see it if it were paywalled, please consider subscribing; there are four different levels to fit all budgets. Or if that doesn’t work for you, please consider showing your generosity with a one-time donation; you can Paypal to maggiemcneill@earthlink.net or else email me at the same address to make other arrangements. Thanks so much!
Posted in Current Events, History, Links, Miscellaneous, Music, Obituary, Tyranny | Tagged acting, advertising, animals, Arkansas, artificial stupidity, comics, cops, dirty, games, Indiana, Italy, Korea, masturbation, psychology, racism, recipes, restaurants, Sweden, video | Leave a Comment »
From here on out, I intend to commemorate Grace’s birthday with a depiction of an eternal flame, symbolizing my undying love for my departed best friend, who would have turned 68 today.
I love you, sweetheart, and I always will.
Posted in Biography, Holidays | Tagged Grace, holidays | Leave a Comment »
No-one in a democracy should need to show their passport just to get online. – Silkie Carlo
There are many ways for cops to enrich themselves at others’ expense:
A [New Jersey cop named Darryl Brown] stole more than $10,000 in camera equipment from a photographer who had to abandon her bag after she was injured during [a pogrom] outside a…[concentration camp] in Newark [named] Delaney Hall…which has been the focus of ongoing protests since Memorial Day weekend…after [political prisoner]s inside announced a hunger and labor strike…Angelina Katsanis was [hit so hard] by a [cop she] could barely walk…as state troopers [attack]ed…the…protesters [with pepper spray and blunt weapons] late [on the] night [of May 30th]…She…tucked her bag aside so she could seek medical help…[it] was clearly labeled with her name, and her keys were airtagged. After a friend unsuccessfully tried to retrieve the bag later that night, they were able to monitor the airtag [be]ing [carried by] Darryl Brown [to his house, where operatives of the attorney general’s office of public integrity]…found some of [it on June 3rd after gaining entry via a search warrant]…
One more baby step toward ridding our society of this evil:
South Carolina is one of 20 states that authorize indefinite [warehousing] of [people] after they have completed their prison sentences…[if] a jury [declares them]…a “sexually violent predator”…Although the South Carolina Office of Mental Health…concluded that Andy Hyman was not an SVP, a jury d[eclared otherwise because a prosecutor tricked them with an “expert”]…opinion based largely on penile plethysmography (PPG), a scientifically dubious technique that [cl]aims to measure sexual response to images, audio narratives, or textual descriptions by gauging tiny changes in the circumference of the subject’s penis. That test, the South Carolina Supreme Court [has now] unanimously ruled…in response to Hyman’s appeal, is “generally inadmissible in judicial proceedings”…join[ing] a long list of state and federal courts that have deemed PPG results unreliable and inadmissible…
The Last Shall Be First (#1523)
Burble burble BLUE STATE burble drool:
Student athletes in Washington state schools who want to compete in girls’ sports would likely have to obtain genital exams to participate, if a[n authoritarian] ballot initiative passes in November…students would have several options to confirm their sex: a visual genital exam, a lab test to determine their genetic makeup, or an analysis of testosterone levels in the blood…[high-profile bigot] Brian Heywood and his political action committee Let’s Go Washington are backing the measure…[which they defend by barfing the word “]safety[“] in girls’ [faces]…the measure would be a major shift in the way the state has…handled school sports participation for transgender kids…since 2007…[there are only about] 10 trans athletes out of more than 200,000 kids [in academic sports] across the state…
In the authoritarian mind, for students to voluntarily allow other people to examine their genitalia for the purpose of pleasure is a “crime”, but for the same students to be forced by law to allow strangers to examine their genitalia for the purpose of bigotry is “protection”.
Cops will invariably use warrantless surveillance to frame people:
…[Ariel Beltran and] Hugo Parra [were falsely] arrested last year on felony [assault] charges…[because] San Diego police…de[cided]…the Alfa Romeo car [they were] riding in…[could teleport] five miles away from…the crime [instantly]…a…[Flock] license plate reader…captured…an…[image of] a different Alfa Romeo [whose license plate cops could not read, so they simply]…arrested Beltran and Parra [for riding in a similar car in a different part of town, also captured by the reader 23 seconds later]…Parra spent nearly one month behind bars…before the…charges were dropped…Now Parra and Beltran are preparing to sue the city for civil rights violations and negligence…several other Flock cameras…[and] the location data on their cell phones [showed they were nowhere near the crime scene, but the cops]…ignored [inconvenient] evidence [to frame the men, who now]…seek $1.5 million apiece in damages…
Zuckerberg sneakily added this dystopian software, hoping civil liberties groups wouldn’t notice:
[Facebook] has quietly embedded face-recognition technology for its [perve]rt glasses into an app downloaded to millions of phones…over multiple updates this year…while publicly…[lying that it w]as something the company was still “thinking through”…Though not yet enabled, NameTag sits inside a…companion app that’s…necessary for use of key features of its [perve]rt glasses…[when] activated, it will transform faces captured by [the pervert] glasses into unique biometric signatures…and check each one against faceprints stored on the user’s phone—a database that…[could easily be re]configured to…revive…technology [Facebook lied about retiring] in 2021, when the company…paid $650 million to settle a class-action lawsuit brought by Illinois users and, in 2024, agreed to a separate $1.4 billion settlement with Texas over…[illega]lly collect[ing] biometric data…
Nuremberg-style trials are the moderate solution to these atrocities:
[Victims of] Florida’s notorious [Dade-Collier concentration camp reported that screws are]…denying them food and fresh water…[in an attempt to coerce them into] sign[ing] documents presented to them in English that they [can]not understand…the water given to them…[is] “rotten” and contain[s] mosquito larvae…They…[are also denying] medicine to…diabetic[s], [people] with high blood pressure…and others [who need daily medication. The concentration camp is so expensive to]…operate…[it is scheduled to] wind down operations in [the next few weeks in preparation for] its eventual closure…[after only] one year of operation, the t[orture] facility…has developed a reputation for the brutal treatment of [human beings crammed into]…metal cages, and…su[bjected to nigh-constant] human and civil rights abuses…[including] denial of access to immigration lawyers, frequent and sudden movement of [victims] to other [concentra]tion [camp]s, and pressure to consent…to deportation…[the new tortures] appear…to be a ramping up of that pressure…
Fascists will never be satisfied until they control all people see, say, and do:
The UK government [is demanding tech companies install Utah-style software] to block access to…images [badly-flawed algorithms identify as “nude”, a la Facebook,] on smartphones and other devices for [all residents of the UK unless they submit to having those devices permanently linked to their identities in government databases]. Sir Keir Starmer has [issued incoherent threats] to…firms [while barfing “]children[” and “]sexually explicit[” at sensible people]…and…[bloviating about what he] “believe[s]”. The government [issued a]…three month…[ultimatum and threatened corporations not resident in the UK with] criminal [charges, even demanding that corporations force the censorship & surveillance software into]…existing…phones [without the owners’ consent]…The [new threats are a tacit admission that the much-ballyhooed]…Online Safety Act – [which took over 12 years to enact] – i[s as utter a failure as sensible people predicted eight years ago]…However, [authoritarian lunatics] have [demand]ed the government…[completely control everything young adults] see…online[, moronically belching “]sextortion[” as though it were a sensible term used by reasonable adults]. The [scheme includes a proposed ban]…on…social media [for all Britons who refuse to submit to a surveillance regime]…
I find paywalls distasteful, and so many people find this blog valuable as a resource I just can’t bring myself to install one. Furthermore, I find ad delivery services (whose content I have no say over) even more distasteful. But as I’m now semi-retired from sex work, I can’t self-sponsor this blog by myself any longer. So if you value my writing enough that you would pay to see it if it were paywalled, please consider subscribing; there are four different levels to fit all budgets. Or if that doesn’t work for you, please consider showing your generosity with a one-time donation; you can Paypal to maggiemcneill@earthlink.net or else email me at the same address to make other arrangements. Thanks so much!
Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Tyranny | Tagged Banishment, bogus studies, California, cell phones, censorship, cops, Facebook, fascism, Florida, illegal aliens, Illinois, law, left-right myth, LGBT rights, Morality Lessons, New Jersey, Opting Out, Panopticon, Policing for Profit, prisons, Pyrrhic Victory, racism, sex offender registry, South Carolina, sporting events, surveillance, teachers, Texas, The Last Shall Be First, Torture Chamber, transgender, United Kingdom, Walled Garden, Washington (state) | Leave a Comment »
If you’re anything like me, every so often you’ll run into a recipe that sounds intriguing, and you note it for possible use later. Some years ago, I was in an international grocery store (IIRC I was buying tahini) and I happened to notice this recipe on another container., so I took a picture with my cell phone to save it. Now, West African cooking may sound exotic to many of y’all, but Louisiana creole cuisine is largely a fusion of French, West African, and Caribbean elements, so I thought it might be something I’d like. Alas, in her final years Grace did not have an adventurous palate; she was not at all interested in trying new dishes, but instead wanted her favorites. So this photo sat in a folder of my phone until recently, when I decided I wanted to make some new kind of soup and remembered this recipe. As I looked at it some instructions struck me as odd, which I assume may be due to differences in how ranges are calibrated or that sort of thing. So I not only cut the recipe in half, but adjusted it in other ways as I thought best, and I found the finished product quite tasty. So here’s my modified version; it made enough for me to have a large bowl that night (which I ate with crackers) with a large mug left over (which I had with a sandwich a few nights later). If you double it, the amount would be sufficient for three dinner-size bowls.
1 boneless chicken breast, about 12-16 oz
1/2 bell pepper
1/2 medium onion
1 can tomato paste (6 oz)
2 tbsp peanut butter (creamy)
2 1/4 cups water
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp red pepper
1) Cut chicken into bite-sized cubes; cook in any oil (I used bacon grease) over medium heat in a 2-quart saucepan until no longer pink. Sprinkle in salt, reduce heat, and set timer for 10 minutes.
2) Cut bell pepper and onion into several pieces each; put them together in a food processor and pulse 6 or 7 times until pureed. Pour puree over meat, stir well and allow to continue simmering.
3) Dump tomato paste over meat mixture; stir until mixed well and continue simmering.
4) In a bowl, mix peanut butter and red pepper with 1/4 cup water until fairly smooth. Add to pot and mix well.
5) When timer runs out, add remaining 2 cups of water, increase heat to medium, and mix well; bring to boiling, then reduce heat, cover, and allow to simmer for 15 minutes.
I found the soup pleasantly spicy (not hot; I’d imagine it would be mild enough for people who order 1 or 2 stars of spiciness at restaurants), with a good flavor that really didn’t taste peanutty to me. The original recipe says beef can be used, but that doesn’t really sound as good to me (plus more expensive these days); I think pork might work well too, though I personally wouldn’t use fish. Since it was pretty simple, relatively quick (roughly 30 minutes once the chicken was defrosted), and tasty, I’ll definitely make it again. Bon appétit!
Posted in Miscellaneous | Tagged Africa, Grace, recipes | Leave a Comment »
Why must I always be put in a position where yelling at some poor working stiff who absolutely isn’t being paid enough to deal with me is the only way to actually get my problem solved?
– “Customer Disservice”
I figured out at a fairly young age that when anyone demanded obedience, belief, or trust because they had an Important Title or were simply bigger than me, rather than for some reason they could logically explain, that it was usually because they had no sound reason, and therefore were not to be trusted, believed, or obeyed.
– “Getting Away from the Grownups”
God-king wannabes…[a]re not only trying to eliminate thoughts they don’t like, but also to cram young heads so full of nonsense that there is no room for actual learning…when their victims mature enough to escape their direct control. – “Censorship by Commission”
One simple definition of a “friend” could be, “Someone who is there for you when you need them.” – “Diary #780“
Posted in Biography, Miscellaneous, Philosophy, Tyranny | Tagged adolescence, agency denial, blogging, censorship, Crippling Thought, Enshittification, ethics, Grace, libraries, propaganda, psychology, teachers | Leave a Comment »
We’ll probably do more things like it [in the future]. – Mark Zuckerberg
Another step toward a national “digital ID”:
Americans aren’t interested in reinstating a military draft, but that’s not stopping the government from “streamlining” Selective Service registration—for young men’s own good, we’re told…”so that none inadvertently face the serious penalties of failing to register”…Despite the penalties…”SSS is experiencing a significant decline in registrations by 18-year-old men…In 2020, the registration rate…was 61.8%, today it is just 39.9%”…To deal with its compliance problem, Selective Service has pushed automatic registration for years…”by leveraging existing databases”…Automatic registration will take us closer to the day when the government unifies data storage…[to enable] government officials to…more efficiently inflict every rule and whim on the population…
Your “leaders” call this “correction”:
T[hree] recent deaths at Michigan’s only women’s prison and the worsening health of a woman [dying from toxic black] mold exposure…are [driv]ing calls for sweeping reforms [of the torture] facility…Rebecca Fackler…died…on May 17, four days after Khaira Howard…died [in] the same [filthy] prison…[Ashley Hoath died June 6,] and…[Krystal] Clark…[is slowly dying from] years of exposure to black mold [which] have left her struggling to breathe, partially paralyzed, and unable to walk without assistance…[due to]
Aspergillus…fungus…in her ears and lungs…photos…and…[politicians] who visited the prison…[report] black mold [actually] growing out of both of her ears…the…prison…is [so] infested with mold…[it] eats through bricks and door frames…drips off the ceiling…falls out of air vents…[and] bubbles and bursts through paint…[and] prisoners [a]re forced to clean [it] without basic supplies…
Cops are nothing more than state-sponsored terrorists:
Hunter Demster…and eight other Memphis residents filed declarations [as part of a] federal [lawsuit] that describe being violently arrested, surveilled at their houses, pulled over under false pretenses, boxed in by police cars, and jailed for trying to film [a pig gang with the Orwellian name “Memphis Safe] Task Force[“]. The lawsuit, filed in mid-May by the…ACLU…and [two law firms]…is seeking a preliminary injunction blocking Task Force [cops] from intimidating, assaulting, or arresting people for recording…[and] ban[ning them] from invoking a new state law…that requires [videograph]ers to stay 25 feet away from police. The lawsuit is a major legal challenge to…the…unofficial and unconstitutional Department of [Father]land Security…[scheme to] treat…recording the police like criminal activity…seven federal circuit courts have firmly upheld the right to record and monitor the police…[yet] videos from around the country…have shown federal [goons] arresting or threatening to arrest people for filming them….in Memphis, [this has escalated into] a “campaign of harassment and intimidation” against observers…
Psychopathic politicians will never stop until they face criminal charges for this kind of evil:
A…proposed state constitutional amendment in North Carolina is seeking to make abortion completely illegal, adding in “protections” for people who [justify] murder [by claiming they wanted] to stop a [woman] from obtaining the procedure…The proposed amendment…declares that “[‘personhood’]…begins at the moment of fertilization”…and…includes additional language that would essentially legalize the murder of someone planning or participating in an abortion in the state…[sane people pointed out that the amendment] “would jail or authorize the murder of women due to their…use of birth control, such as an IUD,” [because they] prevent pregnancies by making implantation [of fertilized ova] nearly impossible…[and] is also “a ‘get out of jail free’ card for men who want to murder their partners…All they have to do is [claim] the women intended to use birth control or have an abortion”…
Cops are so deranged they even treat each other this way:
A [Fatherland Security goon] who was knocked unconscious in a Costco parking lot by a…[San Diego pig has amended his lawsuit to include other members of the pig herd who] engaged in a widespread cover-up to prevent a public relations nightmare…Chu Ding was trying to leave a parking spot…when…Jonathan Ferraro [intentionally] parked in his way while he waited for a nearby spot…[after] Ding tapped on…Ferraro[‘s window to signal he needed to pull out, Ferraro flew into a totally unhinged rage]…and slammed [Ding] to the ground…[after] several bystanders called 911 to report Ferraro as the attacker…911 operators…[dispatched a damage control team of] 14 [pigs], including [several boss hogs] and a [propaganda oinker, who conspired to falsify an arrest report and falsely arrest the badly-injured Ding]…instead of taking him to the hospital promptly…he…was held for nearly 24 hours before being released on bail…the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office refused to prosecute the case…[and] Ding was cleared of any wrongdoing by…[Father]land Security…
Scenes from the early days of a dark age:
The [US] is feeding Pentagon propaganda to internet users in Latin American countries using a new [CGI slop] mill…[named] La Tilde…[which spews slop] in both Spanish and English…extolling the value of U.S. military operations in Latin America…[with] Trumpian [hyperbole] …An explanation for its glowing coverage of the U.S. military can be found after clicking a small link tucked at the bottom of the site…This easily missed disclosure…is identical to [that on] two other Pentagon-sponsored propaganda sites recently revealed by The Intercept…La Tilde carries no bylines, masthead, or mention of actual staff of any kind…and…appears to have been [entirely] generated by a large language model…the site plans to launch…versions [specifically targeted at] readers in Ecuador, El Salvador, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Panama, and Peru…
Zuck says if you ask the shoggoth nicely, it won’t stare at you on the toilet:
[Facebook] has [suppos]edly made some changes to the controversial project known internally as the Model Capability Initiative…[it] now plans to allow employees to “pause” the tracking for up to 30 minutes in the event they need to “check something personal”…a subset of employees will also be able to [beg] to opt out of the program altogether, though this will be limited to remote workers with bandwidth concerns…[or those who] work in spaces where they can’t easily keep laptops connected to a power source…the vast majority…will still be required to allow their (nearly) every move to be tracked and recorded in the name of improving [Zuck’s imaginary friends]…The company has faced protests from employees over MCI, which was announced…just before the company laid off 8,000 workers and reshuffled thousands of others into [being servants to chatbots]…
I find paywalls distasteful, and so many people find this blog valuable as a resource I just can’t bring myself to install one. Furthermore, I find ad delivery services (whose content I have no say over) even more distasteful. But as I’m now semi-retired from sex work, I can’t self-sponsor this blog by myself any longer. So if you value my writing enough that you would pay to see it if it were paywalled, please consider subscribing; there are four different levels to fit all budgets. Or if that doesn’t work for you, please consider showing your generosity with a one-time donation; you can Paypal to maggiemcneill@earthlink.net or else email me at the same address to make other arrangements. Thanks so much!
Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny | Tagged abortion, activism, artificial stupidity, California, contraception, cops, disease, domestic violence, Ecuador, El Salvador, Enshittification, Facebook, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Latin America, law, Michigan, North Carolina, Panama, Peru, politicians, prisons, propaganda, racism, robots, scams, slavery, Stalkers in Blue, surveillance, Tennessee, The Cop Myth, The Vultures Descend, Torture Chamber, Welcome to the Future, You Were Warned | Leave a Comment »
This has got to be the most timid brood of pullets I’ve ever had. They’ve been completely out of the nursery for three weeks now, yet every morning when I check on them, they’re still perching in a tight little group on the roost with the turkey. So every day when I come back in the early afternoon to throw out some scratch, top off their water, and collect the eggs, I have to shoo them off the roost and out the door so they can at least start getting used to the adult hens. It isn’t like the hens are being aggressive to them, either; I haven’t seen a single instance of pecking. But within a few hours of my shooing them out, they’re back on the roost. So I reckon I’ll just need to keep on this way until they finally join the flock, which I’m hoping will happen at least by the end of the month.
Posted in Diary | Tagged animals, Sunset, video | Leave a Comment »
When the Trading with the Enemy Act, predecessor to the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970, established a $10,000 surveillance threshold in 1945, the sum that would trigger snooping was roughly equivalent to $180,000 today. If the threshold had been adjusted for inflation, few of us would ever have to concern ourselves with it. As a recent Cato Institute article expressed it,
…the Bank Secrecy Act regime is swallowing up more transactions every year as inflation decreases the value of the dollar. No bills are passed; no regulations are open to the public. Yet, the wheel is turning, and financial surveillance increases without any checks or balances. When the Supreme Court effectively signed off on the Bank Secrecy Act, it only did so because $10,000 was considered “abnormally large” in the 1970s…[the] point [at which spying on such small transactions ran afoul of the Fourth Amendment] was crossed a long time ago…and…beyond [that, the government] has dramatically expanded financial surveillance at the southern border through geographic targeting orders by lowering the $10,000 threshold to just $200. One small business estimated that it would likely go from filing nine reports per week to filing 50,000 reports per week…an impossible standard…[which] a Texas court [said]…“defies common sense”…
Nor can the government’s lust to snoop into every financial transaction be easily circumvented by the use of cash, because currency denominations larger than pocket change have been banned. The largest bill you can have in your purse/wallet is a Hundred, which has the buying power of just over what a Five had in 1945. Coupled with bank transaction surveillance, the result is that the vast majority of financial transactions are subject to surveillance. If you watch old shows (’60s and earlier) like I do, you’ll see large cash transactions being made discreetly in envelopes containing $1000 bills; the government hated that, so it banned them, and today a large cash payoff takes suitcases of teeny-tiny Franklins. Imagine a payoff in a Bogart movie being made with a suitcase full of Fives, and you’ll understand just how little financial privacy you have in comparison with your grandparents.
Posted in History, Tyranny | Tagged Decentralization, Presumption of Guilt, surveillance | Leave a Comment »
I had about six Coors Light at the VFW. – Tammy Robinkoff
This improvisation by saxophone great Sonny Rollins was provided, along with his obituary, by Jesse Walker; the other links above the video were provided by Radley Balko; Mike Masnick; Nun Ya; Popehat; Mike Siegel; Asawin Suebsaeng and Sean, in that order.
- But for video.
- Your “leaders” at work.
- The truth is often painful.
- I hate it when this happens.
- R.I.P. Sonny Rollins and Marcia Lucas.
- More great moments in artificial stupidity.
From the Archives
- Cops, artificial stupidity, reefer madness, William Russell, and much more.
- I was fated to be threatened with state violence regardless of career path.
- Texas is completely uninterested in controlling its psychopathic politicians.
- Politicians blatantly lying about a facility to train cops to brutalize citizens.
- There have been too few nuisance lawsuits for Louisiana politicians’ taste.
- Politicians don’t care how much money they waste on culture war theater.
- “Sex trafficking” rhetoric is popular under this racist, anti-migrant regime.
- “Safety” has become the State’s universal excuse for violating civil rights.
- China’s campaign to silence expatriates has become far more aggressive.
- Damage done by prohibition is never limited to the obvious target group.
- Texas’ rulers say doctors should just hope prosecutors don’t target them.
- This would be hilarious if the fools were throwing away their own money.
- This is exactly why there are so many homeless people in the first place.
- Cramming young heads so full of nonsense there’s no room for learning.
- It’s always nice to see authoritarian fanatics hoist with their own petard.
- “There is no reason to believe anyone aided him.” So negligent screws.
- Similar cases have already been ruled unconstitutional in other circuits.
- It’s a relief to see courts sending so many ambulance-chasers packing.
- Conditioning kids to accept constant, intrusive surveillance is working.
- Sometimes it’s good to have an excuse for behaving like an imbecile.
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a rare gem, and Angel a worthy spinoff.
- I’m glad I grew up when kids avoided grownups whenever possible.
- It’s too bad cops don’t spend all their time policing their own gang.
- New forms of intrusive surveillance are always justified as “safety”.
- It only starts with people the state wants you to hate and distrust.
- Vancouver police let this maniac run wild for years because “NHI”.
- Remember, this isn’t “human trafficking”, but consensual sex is.
- “Support women’s right to autonomy” ≠ “back paying for sex”.
- The claims in these nuisance lawsuits are increasingly absurd.
- US politicians’ sick infatuation with “punishment” continues.
- Wave bye-bye to the last remaining shreds of your privacy.
- The three new pullets have almost fully joined the flock.
- US evangelical prohibitionists are a worldwide menace.
- Any civilized country would be deeply ashamed of this.
- Your “leaders” know what’s best, so shut up and obey.
- Wins against censors are increasingly rare these days.
- Matthew 21:31 seems pretty straightforward to me.
- Whores’ Day is not an occasion for sanitized words.
- Cops, The Avengers, Loretta Swit, and much more.
- Useful idiots never see where their idiocy will lead.
- A one-woman show about the late Grace Bellavue.
- Cops, Poe’s Law, Astrud Gilberto, and much more.
- The Unsinkable Liz Brown on internet censorship.
- Can you even imagine this happening in the US?
- A rare good decision from the current SCOTUS.
- “‘When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said…”
- Your “leaders” refer to this as “correction”.
- Getting my fountain in place at last.
- Rock ‘n’ Roll Throwback Thursday.
- Twitter shifts to an opt-in model.
- The “security” system that isn’t.
- Crying over a computer mouse.
- Who in Review is finally here!
- Lesbian Throwback Thursday.
- Much more of this, please.
- Another creepy copper.
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Boring but necessary legal stuff