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Diary #665

The chicks will be moving into their nursery in the henhouse this coming Sunday, so last Saturday I decided it was time to give the place its semi-annual cleaning.  That means shoveling out what is politely called “poultry litter” (a mixture of feathers, spilled feed, decomposing hay, and chicken shit) and replacing it with fresh hay.  In the autumn that’s the end of it, but in the spring I also need to straighten out the chicken wire around the nursery to keep the hens out, then spread fresh shavings all over the nursery and make sure the bulb in their heat lamp is still good.  It’s a tiring, smelly job, but fortunately it only takes about two hours and it is only semi-annual.  And when I think about how much it would cost to regularly buy a paltry few second-rate weeks-old grocery store eggs, that two hours of literally shoveling shit twice a year in exchange for a constant supply of delicious fresh eggs (in such plentiful supply that I can share them with friends) begins to seem like a good bargain indeed.

Liz Brown recently published a roundup of efforts in various states to change prostitution laws, four of them for the better and two for the mostly-worse.  Liz covers the developments with her usual thoroughness so the article is well worth reading in its entirety, but since there are several tags tracking these legal maneuvers, it doesn’t hurt to synopsize them here (along with a few comments of my own, and links to earlier stories about prostitution law changes in those states).

Hawaii

Senate Bill 1204…introduced by state Sen. Carol Fukunaga…would repeal a section of Hawaii law criminalizing prostitution…and a section criminalizing “commercial sexual exploitation”…It would also repeal laws that criminalize “promoting prostitution,” “loitering for the purpose of engaging in or advancing prostitution,” “promoting travel for prostitution,” “street prostitution,” and soliciting prostitution near schools or parks…Another measure introduced by Fukunaga…would establish a working group to “study the effects of New Zealand’s model of decriminalizing prostitution on sex workers, their clients, and the broader community”…and “make recommendations for amending Hawaii laws to decriminalize prostitution”…

New York

…Julia Salazar[‘s]…S4396…has attracted eight co-sponsors so far…[it] would repeal all parts of state penal law “that make sex work between consenting adults illegal”…[and] also repeal other statutes related to consensual adult prostitution…

Unfortunately, there is a competing Swedish model bill sponsored by prohibitionist Liz Krueger which would treat sex workers as moral imbeciles and target their partners, friends, co-workers and families for persecution, and the governor has held discussions with its supporters.

Rhode Island

House Bill 6064 was introduced on March 3 and…would allow sex workers to come forward about crimes they witnessed or were victimized by without worrying that police would then arrest them for prostitution…or “procuring or attempting to procure sexual conduct for the payment of a fee,” loitering for prostitution, “soliciting from motor vehicles for indecent purposes,” or practicing massage without a license…

I’m not especially impressed with laws like this, one of which was recently passed in California.  But there are also re-decriminalization efforts going on in the state.

Vermont

H.372…has attracted 14 sponsors…and…would repeal the part of Vermont’s criminal code that outlaws engaging in prostitution, soliciting someone for prostitution, aiding and abetting prostitution, and related activities (such as permitting a place to be used for lewdness or prostitution and transporting someone to a place where they will engage in prostitution)…

Vermont’s current law actually defines all extramarital sex as “prostitution”, whether or not money is exchanged.

Massachusetts

[Prohibitionist filth] Kay Khan…[is once again trying to] implement what’s known as the Nordic model of sex work laws, in which paying for sex is illegal but selling sex (at least under some circumstances) is not.  The Nordic model…[i]s not recommended by human rights, health, or sex worker advocacy groups, since continuing to criminalize prostitution clients keeps the industry underground and leaves in place most of the harms presented by full criminalization.  A recent study of sex work law changes in Europe  found that…the Nordic model [is] associated with higher rape rates…

Tennessee

[Politicians] Page Walley…and…John Ragan…have introduced measures (H.B. 1383 and S.B. 0182), [basically similar to the one on offer in Rhode Island, with an important difference: they]…would also institute heftier penalties for people paying or attempting to pay for sex.  Right now, the crime of “patronizing prostitution” in Tennessee is already a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to 11 months and 29 days in prison and/or a $2,500 fine.  The…[new] law…would make patronizing prostitution a Class E felony, punishable by one to six years in prison and up to $3,000 in fines.  Increasing…penalties for…customers doesn’t stop prostitution.  But it may make customers more reluctant to engage in screening…and…other conditions that could increase sex worker safety, out of fear that doing so will leave a paper trail or otherwise make them more vulnerable to arrest…

Links #664

Put your hands behind your…fucking back.  –  “Officer” Paul Arrowood

This week’s video features Topol, who passed away earlier this month, playing the part he was born to play.  The links above it were provided by Stephen Lemons; Franklin Harris and Jesse Walker; Marc Randazza; Cop Crisis (x3); and Angela Keaton, in that order.

From the Archives

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!

The government cannot use bogus criminal charges to attempt to silence its critics.  –  Kirby Thomas West

The Truth About “The Truth About…”

Just another of those nonexistent false rape accusations:

A 25-year-old Stanford University employee was arrested…and charged with felony perjury for…lying about being raped twice last year on campus…Jennifer Ann Gries…first [made] a false [report] in August…[claiming] that a [young black] man…dragged her to a restroom and [rap]ed her, the[n]…in October she went…to get another rape examination and told the nurse…that…a man…forced her into a basement storage closet [in broad daylight] and raped her…She…declined to speak with police…[both times, and] also claimed that she became pregnant with twins but suffered a miscarriage…Both of Gries’ [rape] kits were analyzed…[but] the…results “were not consistent with her story.”  On both occasions she…signed forms to get public funds…[from a] compensation [fund]…In January…Gries…admitted to lying about the rapes and wr[ote] an apology letter to the man…[s]he [had] target[ed, claiming]…”She…was upset with [him] because she felt he gave her ‘false intention’ and turned her friends against her”…

If Men Were Angels

This will never stop as long as people teach kids unquestioning obedience to “authority”:  “A Chalmette [Louisiana] pastor [named Milton Martin III has been] arrested for.molesting a minor…from 2010 to 2013; starting when the victim was just 14…

Permanent Record

Given that Italy has had a porn performer in its parliament (albeit in the less-puritanical 1980s), this outcome was unsurprising:

A judge has ordered an Italian university to pay…a prestigious academic after dismissing him…[due to] his former career as an adult performer.  Professor Ruggero Freddi performed in gay porn in the U.S. as Carlo Masi between 2004 and 2013 for Colt Studios, and later went on to receive advanced degrees in engineering and mathematics.  He was awarded 2,500 euros for unpaid hours and 1,500 euros for “unjustified dismissal”…

A Broker in Pillage (#918)

Wayne County, Michigan has openly stolen thousands of cars with similar tactics:

A Detroit man…[named] Robert Reeves[, represented] by the Institute for Justice…[is suing] Wayne County prosecutors [because they] twice filed baseless criminal charges against him after he joined a class-action lawsuit in an attempt to get his…car back…[after it was stolen by cops] in July of 2019…along with more than $2,000 in cash, after [they decided to absurdly accuse him]…of stealing a skid steer from Home Depot [despite having no evidence at all].  For more than six months, Reeves was not arrested or charged with a crime, and the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office…didn’t file [the paperwork]…to [steal] his car [under color of law], meaning he wasn’t able to officially challenge the [robbery].  Reeves then joined a class-action lawsuit filed by the Institute for Justice in 2020 challenging Wayne County’s aggressive asset [robbery] program…[in retaliation] the WCPO filed felony charges against Reeves for receiving and concealing stolen property, then asked the judge overseeing the class-action lawsuit to suspend his suit while the criminal case against him proceeded.  In February of 2021, after more than a year of delays…the judge in the criminal case against Reeves dismissed the charges for lack of evidence.  Less than a month later, the WCPO refiled the charges against Reeves.  In January of last year, that case ended with an identical result…

Property of the State (#1152)

Tennessee is now apparently emulating Alabama:

Bianca Clayborne and Deonte Williams were driving through rural Tennessee with their five young children when they were [subjected to a pretextual stop so cops could search their car with a dog]…when police found 5 grams of marijuana in the car, Williams was arrested and the five children were [abduct]ed by local child [“]protective[“] services.  One month later, the couple is still fighting to regain custody of their children…

To Molest and Rape (#1244)

Rapist cops don’t only target women:

…a…[Hong Kong] cop…surnamed Luk…was [arrested after a man was] found [dead] in a hotel…andanother…man…[was raped by use of] gamma-hydroxybutyrate, or GHB…commonly known as the “date rape drug”…[an unidentified] 28-year-old man asked a mainland man – whom he met on a dating app – to the [second] hotel the same night after he left the…hotel [where the dead man was found].  He spiked the mainlander’s coke, [raped] him, and left.  Then Luk entered the hotel room and also [raped] the [victim]…police arrested the 28-year-old…and Luk for…raping the mainlander…[and] will arrange for an autopsy to…see if [the other victim died from] an overdose of [GHB]…

The Vultures Descend (#1303)

This anti-abortion law seems to be specifically targeted at doctors:

Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon…signed into law a bill outlawing the use or prescription of…abortion pills…so-called “morning-after” pills…are exempted…[as is] any treatment necessary to protect a woman “from an imminent peril that substantially endangers her life or health,” as well as any treatment of a “natural miscarriage according to currently accepted medical guidelines”…The measure stipulates that a woman “upon whom a chemical abortion is performed or attempted shall not be criminally prosecuted”…

 

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!

Annex 101

Thanks to a very generous gentleman, we now have a wood-burning stove for the atrium!  According to the specifications, it should be more than enough to heat the area, which will mean no more shivery runs from the hot tub into the lower bathroom after a nice, relaxing soak; it will also help keep the cottages and upper bathroom warm next winter, and protect the pipes during cold weather since the well is in the utility room, fairly close to the stove.  It should also help me save on electricity, since Sunset is 11 acres and the majority of that is trees; even just picking up fallen branches should provide plenty of fuel.  Since it arrived less than a week before the end of winter, it won’t be of much help this year, but that’s OK; at least I’ll have plenty of time to get the chimney installed and all the other prep long before it starts getting chilly again around the end of September.  Since it weighs about 150 kg, I reinforced the deck the same way I did under the shower pan, then we put down four concrete pavers and a marble slab Jae scored several years ago.  She and Grace figured out what we needed, and since I’ve never owned a wood stove before I trusted them; it certainly is a nice looking unit, and I’m looking forward to getting it ready to at least test as soon as I can budget the rest of the stovepipe, fittings, etc.

Thaw-time Tweets

From a legal perspective, [fetal personhood] is, quite frankly, bonkers.  –  Elizabeth N. Brown

Rescued To Death

The “Swedish model” helps women!

Police raided 11 [shared incall]s…in studio apartments in…Tel Aviv…[evict]ing some 20 women…Tel Aviv’s Welfare Department…only got an hour’s forewarning…[and] organizations aiding prostitutes were not informed at all…one [sex worker]…told Haaretz…“They wouldn’t let me change. They came in with cameras and large forces and told me to get lost in 10 minutes…We have no way to make ends meet this month”…Romi Levy of the Argaman organization [said]…“Women who have committed no crime were depicted…as wanted criminals…Women aged 30-60 were thrown out on the street with their belongings, crying and shouting for help, which I’m sad to say won’t be forthcoming”…

If Men Were Angels

This will never stop as long as people teach kids unquestioning obedience to “authority”:  “The minister of a church in [Ohio]…has been arrested…[on] multiple criminal charges…of the sexual abuse of minors.  Dennis Laferty…is pastor at Thompson United Methodist Church…

The Mob Rules (#1198)

Unless this batshittery is declared unconstitutional, things will keep getting worse:

A Texas man is suing three women under the wrongful death statute, alleging that they assisted his ex-wife in terminating her pregnancy…Marcus Silva is represented by [two politicians:] Jonathan Mitchell…architect of the state’s prohibition on abortions…and state Rep. Briscoe Cain…[the] ex-wife learned she was pregnant in July 2022, t[wo] month[s] after [s]he [had filed for divorce]…and [wisely decided]…to…terminate the pregnancy [lest the husband weaponize it in the divorce]…The friends…sen[t] her information about Aid Access, an international group that provides abortion-inducing medication through the mail…they [later] found a way to acquire the medication in Houston…A third woman delivered the medication…and…the wife self-managed an abortion at home…The lawsuit relies heavily on screenshots from a [private] group chat the ex-wife had with [her] two friends…

Choke Point (#1275) 

The word “pause” means a temporary stop:

Just weeks ago, gun control advocates were doing happy dances as credit card companies prepared to implement a new merchant category code…that would ease the way…for tracking gun purchases.  Now, under public pressure, financial institutions are backing away from those codes…It’s an illustration of how…politicized business has become, and how difficult it is for private companies to navigate between the country’s political tribes…

Panopticon (#1295)

Forcing the government back from establishing a very dangerous precedent:

…the Department of Commerce and the…NOAA…[demanded] in 2020…[that] charter-boat captains…install—at their own expense—onboard monitoring systems that regularly relayed their boats’ GPS locations to the government.  A group of…captains…sued, saying the rule violated rights to due process, privacy, and freedom of movement…Now a federal court has sided with the captainsinstallation of a [monitoring] device would cost $3,000, with an additional $40 to $75 per month in service fees…charter-boat owners…primarily operate small businesses, with roughly $26,000 per year in net income…in addition…the regulation imposes a massive privacy cost; demanding that charter-boat owners transmit their exact location to the Government, every hour of every day forever…

The Vultures Descend (#1319)

The predictable result of “fetal personhood” snake oil:

South Carolina [politician]s are proposing…to…defin[e] personhood to begin at fertilization…[even though] the majority of fertilized eggs do not go on to become viable pregnancies…Legally defining personhood as beginning at conception creates all sorts of thorny issues, from the serious (should the state start investigating all miscarriages as potential homicides?) to the odd (can a pregnant woman legally drive in a carpool lane?)…fetal personhood laws have been considered in a number of states and passed in five (Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas and Missouri).  And implicit in this concept is the idea that all laws…would equally apply to all “unborn persons”…South Carolina’s proposed Prenatal Equal Protection Act would…amend the sections of the state code related to murder and assault to say that…women who get abortions could be charged with homicide, and women who injure a fetus in some way could be charged with assault…It’s the type of laws that could lead to increased surveillance, restrictions on, and criminalization of pregnant women across the board…

To Molest and Rape (#1322)

Cops view alcoholism as a way to coerce sex from those suffering from it:

A [Florida cop] has been fired for [coerc]ing an…a[lcoholic] woman…in[to sex]…Patrick Monteith…manipulated [his victim, who]…was scared to report [the rapes] to the police or [even tell him no]…”because of his position as an officer”…Monteith [characteriz]ed [the abusive] relationship [as]…a friendship…

 

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!

Diary #664

I was planning to take down the shutters sometime between yesterday and Easter, depending on the weather.  But on Saturday it was so nice and warm I just decided to do it then, even though we are supposed to get a few more cold nights next week.  I think the chilly nights will be made up before by warm days, and it’s nice to have more fresh air blowing through, plus I like being able to see the animals through the screens.  In fact, I am planning in the next few weeks to extend the fence around the north side of the house, so the animals will be able to walk anywhere completely around the house except for the west side.  Not only will that allow the animals access to another large expanse of green grass, it will also allow Cicero and Shiloh to get at fallen apples in the autumn.  And since there are two large windows on the north side of the house, that will also allow us to see the animals in that direction.  I like having animals around, so the more ways I can casually see them while going about my day, the more I like it.  And I plan to install a sliding screen on the window behind where Grace normally sits, so that she can open it up and give treats to Cicero that way.  It may seem silly, but that’s part of the pleasure of country life to me; being able to look out a window and see grass and trees and animals, even wild animals sometimes, is so much better for my mental and spiritual health then being subjected to a “view” which consists of nothing but concrete, glass, and automobiles, and background noise consisting mostly of traffic and sirens (occasionally broken by some person yelling in the distance).  And now that I’m mostly finished with the building projects,  maybe I’ll be able to actually relax and enjoy it this year.

The apparent path of the sun will cross the equator moving northward at 21:24 UTC today, signaling the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in the Southern.  Enjoy the milder weather to come, and Blessed Be!

Links #663

You’re going to kill me.  –  Lisa Edwards

Since every one of this week’s links, all provided by Cop Crisis, was just horrible, I’m sure y’all will understand if I inject some levity by way of the video.

From the Archives

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!