As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I’m in the process of closing down my incall. Such passages are always a bit sad for me, and this one is no exception; however, that sorrow is mitigated by the fact that for the first time in decades I have a place I can truly call my own (and if mortgages are taken into consideration, this is the first time in my life I can truly call a place mine). Still, I like a lot of the furnishings from the incall, and most of them will work one place or another at Sunset, especially in the atrium. We had an unpredicted drizzle Wednesday morning before unloading (we got back too late Tuesday to do it then), so my mattress and the cushion from the round couch we call the “cat bed” are currently placed where they will dry most quickly. Yes, that’s my work mattress; it’s a very high-end one I found really cheap on Craigslist years ago, and it’s so comfy I’m switching the one currently on my upstairs bed to a guest bed. The rugs will make the floor cozy and warm in the cold months, and we’re even using my bar (you can barely see it just to the left of the mattress). Since we couldn’t fit the floor mats in either van with everything else, the rugs can’t be placed just yet; however, we’ll get them soon, and I think once they’re in place the feel of the atrium is going to become a lot more comfortable and welcoming. 
Archive for August, 2023
Annex 118
Posted in Diary, tagged Sunset on August 11, 2023| Leave a Comment »
In the News (#1362)
Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, The Dark Side, Tyranny, tagged agency denial, Arkansas, cell phones, censorship, Connecticut, cops, Cops and Robbers, Creepy Coppers, evidence, Guinea Pigs, hysteria, I Spy, Idaho, If Men Were Angels, Indiana, Lack of Evidence, law, libraries, North Carolina, prisons, Pyrrhic Victory, rescue industry, streetwalkers, surveillance, Texas, Thought Control, Torture Chamber, United Kingdom, violence vs. sex workers on August 9, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Once you get the scarlet letter, nobody wants you anymore.
– Kristen DiAngelo
Oh look, another “youth pastor”, what a surprise:
A [typical and representative] youth pastor at a Twin Falls [Idaho] church faces sexual battery charges after…[molesting] a girl in 2021 when she was 16 years old. Dakota Austin Kennemer…was charged…after…the pastor [reported him to cops]…
This one, on the other hand, is a bit surprising: 
Amanda Buchanan Justice…of [North Carolina]…was charged with sexually assaulting a child…She…was a youth leader at New Life Family Worship Center in Kings Mountain…her…husband…is still serving as a pastor…[but] stepped down from his role as a youth minister following…his wife [admitting the molestation to him]…
US officials already know prisons exacerbate crime; they simply don’t care:
In 1999 Connecticut had so many people in prison that it paid to send 500 of them to be [cag]ed in Virginia. Nearly 25 years later, the state has not only sliced its number of imprisoned people in half, but been able to close more than 10 prisons while keeping its crime rate at its lowest level in more than 40 years…Connecticut currently runs 13 prisons, which [cag]e about 10,000 people. Two-thirds of these are serving sentences; the other third are those who have yet to be sentenced…The state’s rate of 155 people imprisoned per 100,000 residents is now the ninth lowest in the country and well below the national average of 350 people per 100,000…
Another bunch of vigilante bigots playing games with people’s lives:
Victor Marx…is…a [jarhead and] self-proclaimed exorcist…[who] helped launch the Skull Games, a privatized intelligence outfit that purports to hunt pedophiles, sex traffickers, and other “demonic activity” using a blend of sock-puppet social media accounts and commercial surveillance tools — including face recognition software…Recent games have been [sponsored] by the [Israeli] surveillance firm Cobwebs, and an upcoming competition…[by] Anomaly Six…Marx has savvily ridden recent popular attention to the [propaganda] film Sound of Freedom…and conservative “groomer” panic…to [sell harassment of sex workers as somehow]…Christ[ian]…Skull Games…is…a sort of hackathon for would-be Christian saviors…play[ers win] points based on their sleuthing. Finding a [sex worker]’s high school diploma…nets 15 points, while finding [a common] tattoo on multiple women would earn…300…as they prepare intelligence dossiers on women before turning them over to p[igs]…what sets Skull Games apart from other amateur predator-hunting efforts is its reliance on “open-source intelligence”…a military euphemism…[for] surveilling the public internet and purchasing sensitive information from commercial data brokers…one [recent participant was]…able to use PimEyes to find a sex worker’s driver’s license…Clearview [and Amazon’s Rekognition were]…heavily used in the January 2023 Skull Games…
Courts are still more dependable sources of relief from bad laws than politicians:
…The Dallas County Criminal Court of Appeals has struck down a law against “manifesting the purpose of engaging in prostitution.” The law…”trespasses on the constitutional rights of Dallas citizens,” wrote Judge Kristin Wade…The Dallas law…[basically] prohibits looking like [a whore, and can bring]…a fine of up to $500…there’s been a growing movement against these laws, which make it easy for police to hassle and arrest people without cause…The case that led to the law being struck down involved the arrest of Iqbal Jivani, who “was in a known prostitution area and stopped to engage passers-by in conversation,” per a police complaint…
It seems I was destined to be threatened with state violence regardless of my career path:
A federal lawsuit…challenges an Arkansas law that would subject librarians and booksellers to criminal charges if they provide…materials [politicians have pointed at while belching out “harmful”] to minors. A coalition that includes the Central Arkansas Library System in Little Rock filed the challenge to the law, which [took] effect Aug. 1. The law also creates a new process [for any busybody] to [demand] library materials…be [censored]…The number of attempts to ban or [censor] books across the U.S. last year was the highest in the 20 years the American Library Association has been tracking such efforts…at least 121 proposals introduced in state legislatures this year target…libraries, librarians, educators and access to materials…39 of those…would allow for criminal prosecution…
The people the government empowers to police your sexuality:
A Vevay, Indiana [cop named]…Kyle Davis…was arrested…[for] attempt[ing] to video record an underage [girl]…while she was using the bathroom…on May 30, 2020, she was at his home when she wanted to use the bathroom…Davis went in…before her…and she noticed an iPhone pointed toward the toilet set to record video…[when later questioned] Davis…[tried to blame] his teenage son…[but] Davis’ phone…[held a nude photo] of two pre-pubescent girls about 8 years old…[and] searches related to “voyeurism” [and] “spy cams”…
This totalitarian nonsense is a danger to the entire internet, worldwide:
…the privacy of people around the world…[will be undermined by] the Online Safety Bill, now at the final stage before passage…which will destroy end-to-end encryption. No amendments have been accepted that would mitigate the bill’s most dangerous elements…If the Online Safety Bill becomes British law, the damage it causes won’t stop at the borders of the U.K…because…undermining encryption, whether by banning it, pressuring companies away from it, or requiring client side scanning, will be a boon to bad actors and authoritarian states…That’s [why]…U.K. civil society groups have condemned the bill, as have technical experts and human rights groups around the world…In response to this outpouring of resistance, the U.K. government’s response has been to wave its hands and deny reality…
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 #684
Posted in Diary, tagged animals, Sunset on August 8, 2023| 1 Comment »
I am always in a bit of awe when faced with the speed at which animals can build enormous structures. Last week I was working very near where Jae spotted this hornets’ nest yesterday morning, and saw neither bugs nor nest; within that time it had grown to nearly the size of a soccer ball. And while I’m generally pretty “live and let live” where insects and other creeping things are concerned, hornets are far too aggressive to allow inside the atrium! Unfortunately I did not have any of the “kill hornets from 6 m away” spray, but I used the flying insect spray judiciously and managed to clear them out without getting stung; a shovel then took care of the mostly-empty nest. I’d say there were already several dozen adults, and I didn’t try to count the larvae (though I saw dozens of sealed cells when the nest fell and broke open). But since I’ve always found the hymenoptera fascinating, especially in their construction of city-like nests, I just had to take a picture before I removed it. And as soon as I finish writing this I’m going to add “wasp spray” to my next grocery list, as a precaution against another swarm building a nest way up near the peak where I’d have had a devil of a time dealing with them otherwise.
R.I.P. Jim Larkin
Posted in Current Events, Obituary, Perception, The Dark Side, Tyranny, tagged advertising, Arizona, Backpage, censorship, Dangerous Speech, ethics, hysteria, internet, RIP Jim Larkin on August 7, 2023| 1 Comment »
If the government decides to point its finger at you, there’s really no question that they’re going to try to ruin you. – Jim Larkin
I never met Jim Larkin, but the unexpected news of his suicide brought tears to my eyes last Tuesday; those tears were not only for him, but for all of us living under the government that murdered him as surely as if he had been executed.
God help us.
His death was reported in many places online; of course the corporate media reports ranged from typical lie-parroting and bootlicking to outright grave-dancing, and the ghouls at the federal agency which hounded him to death had the jaw-dropping gall to “send condolences to his family and friends, and wish them sustenance and strength in a difficult time“. As is not unusual these days, one needed to turn to the alternative press to read a truthful account, such as this one from Elizabeth Nolan Brown of Reason:
Lacey [and] Larkin built the Phoenix New Times from an anti-war student newspaper into a broad—and still-thriving—record of Maricopa County culture and politics…They [then] expanded their alt-weekly empire nationwide, eventually running 17 free papers, including the Miami New Times, Westword, the Dallas Observer, and The Village Voice…Collectively, the papers and their staffers were nominated for more than 1,400 national writing awards, won one Pulitzer, and were finalists for the Pulitzer six other times…Among the court battles they fought—and won—was one over infamous Sheriff Joe Arpaio demanding data on New Times readers; Arpaio was eventually forced to pay Larkin and Lacey a $3.75 million settlement, which they used to establish the immigrant rights organization Frontera Fund. Another…was waged over a 1971 New Times ad for a group that helped women in Arizona (where abortion was illegal) travel to California for the procedure. The case eventually helped invalidate Arizona’s entire abortion ban…
And this one from Mike Masnick of Techdirt:
…contrary to the public narrative you may have heard, Backpage worked closely with federal law enforcement to actually stop sex trafficking…But they refused to do the same for consensual sex work and that is why the feds eventually came down on them like a ton of bricks, all while telling the media and politicians that it was for sex trafficking. But that was all bullshit. And the bullshit extended to the process of the federal case against Larkin and Lacey, including when the defendants discovered an internal DOJ memo stating flat out that Backpage was helpful, rather than harmful, in the fight against sex trafficking. The DOJ successfully got the court to say that they couldn’t use that in their defense…
His family made this statement in the paper he co-founded:
…Jim fought for voices and issues ignored by society. He fought against police brutality, he fought for immigrant rights and, above all, he fought tooth and nail for free speech. He wasn’t afraid to pick up the unmovable boulders of our society and shine light on the corruption beneath. While many publishers abandoned journalistic principles in the face of pressure and harassment, Jim stood fast and fought for the truth…
But it’s Michael Lacey’s comments which are, unsurprisibly, the most poignant:
I never saw my friend do a dishonest or dishonorable thing in his entire life.
I had a four-decade friendship with a wonderful man.
Now I have only his memory.
Links #683
Posted in Current Events, Links, Miscellaneous, Music, Obituary, Tyranny, tagged animals, Arkansas, California, cops, domestic violence, Florida, France, Ireland, language, Pennsylvania, politicians, racism, Tennessee, The Cop Myth, video, Washington (state) on August 6, 2023| Leave a Comment »
I know many will view this as a double sacrilege (because Prince), but I’ve never liked “Nothing Compares 2 U”. So I thank Greg Lukianoff for pointing me to this song, which not only better showcases O’Connor’s singing (IMHO), but also seems more lyrically appropriate. The links above the video were provided by Gustavo Turner; Walter Olson; Jesse Walker; Isley; Aaron Ross Powell and Jesse Walker again; Missy Mariposa; and Radley Balko, in that order.
- Cat, I farted.
- Metaphor alert.
- I’ve seen this one before.
- Your “leaders” call this “correction”.
- R.I.P. Sinead O’Connor and SunRay Kelley.
- Because laws are more important than people.
- Cop brutally beats man for “contraband” air freshener.
From the Archives
- Acknowledging that selling sex is pragmatic & lucrative is “sugar-coating”.
- On the dopey claim computers can detect “trafficking” in plain escort ads.
- Everyone harmed by “prostitution stings” needs to keep suing over them.
- “Hard cases” are less rare than forced-birth pushers want you to believe.
- Burying government in lawsuits is the only way to slow its depredations.
- It’s so nice to hear this from someone whose name isn’t Maggie McNeill.
- Any information you give to the State can and will be used against you.
- Is there anything narrower & meaner than the mind of a prison official?
- Nobody admits the danger of giving macho guys power over teen girls.
- Debunkings of “sex trafficking” mythology are now becoming common.
- Blaming bad behavior on an imaginary “addiction” is not responsibility.
- My interview on an Australian radio show named Behind Closed Doors.
- Sociologists are at last admitting their role in creating the police state.
- Amateurs are finally noticing that “feminists” are in bed with the pigs.
- Pigs, Super Friends, Bernard Cribbins, Nichelle Nichols, & much more.
- Pasco County is already being sued & federally investigated over this.
- When people are really enslaved, the situation isn’t at all ambiguous.
- The usual avalanche of horror stories resulting from acts of tyranny.
- Prohibitionists extending their fantasies to OnlyFans was inevitable.
- Why illustrate this at all if you’re just going to pixellate the images?
- The only thing unusual here is that the molester cop got in trouble.
- Vancouver, Washington is a “hotspot” for “sex trafficking” hysteria.
- US “authorities” keep pretending sex is an excuse for any tyranny.
- Prohibitionists’ next target isn’t just porn; it’s all online sex work.
- The claims of crypto-moralists are growing increasingly absurd.
- This abomination started as a means of spying on sex workers.
- “Rescue” resulting in “at least two” suicide attempts every day.
- This attempt to blame others is odious even by cop standards.
- Of course they’re prosecuting his wife for trying to stop him.
- An excerpt from The Feminist War on Crime by Aya Gruber.
- This psychopath is far too close to real power for comfort.
- Is it polite to follow an escort on Twitter after seeing her?
- What are the mechanics of retirement for a sex worker?
- Principled Christians understand that prohibition is evil.
- I’m very pleased with how this little porch came out.
- Cops, apes, Mr. Bubble, Ron Popeil, and much more.
- PayPal is becoming an active threat to civil liberties.
- Never call the cops for any reason whatsoever.
- Phase 3 of the bathhouse project is underway.
- The Swedish rot has reached Eastern Europe.
- Settling down into a mostly sedate rural life.
- Even being related to a cop may be enough.
- I suppose it could have been much worse.
- Cops want their hysteria to trump reality.
- Cops, seeds, Wal-mart, and much more.
- My two previous columns for Lammas.
- What did this guy think he was, a cop?
- Preparing to start on my atrium roof.
- Your “leaders” call this “correction”.
- The onset of arthritis in my hands.
- Changing a well pump isn’t easy.
- Our recent Freedom Fest panel.
- Rapist cops of the week.
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!
In the News (#1361)
Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Tyranny, tagged Above the Law, acting, agency denial, Broken Record, censorship, cops, hysteria, Indiana, internet, Ireland, libraries, Neither Addiction nor Epidemic, Never Call the Cops, New Jersey, Not for Any Reason Whatsoever, politicians, prohibitionist myths, propaganda, psychology, rape, South Dakota, sporting events, teachers, Texas, The Last Shall Be First, Thought Control, To Molest and Rape, transgender, United Kingdom, Wisconsin, You Were Warned on August 5, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Anytime there’s a bipartisan consensus and a preachy New York Times op-ed, you can assume something you enjoy is about to get regulated out of existence or made worse in quality. – Liz Wolfe
The Sturgis Motorcycle rally officially begins on August 4th. [Blah blah pearl-clutching, lies about criminal charges, infantilization of women, and cop swagger]…South Dakota’s pheasant hunting season also causes a spike in sex trafficking in South Dakota…
The Last Shall Be First (#924)
If you didn’t see this coming, you haven’t been paying attention:
Christine Gallinaro [took] her [deeply autistic] 15-year-old son…[to a cinema] in…New Jersey…[and brought him] into the women’s toilets because there was no family one…her son, who…is non-verbal, “is not equipped to go into a men’s bathroom in a public setting alone”…However, the…theatre’s manager approached them in the…crowded lobby, shouting…“a grown man should not be in the women’s restroom” and “this is not a transgender bathroom”. He then told an assistant manager to call the police [on them]…
They usually make these cases sound like the rapist was doing his victims a favor:
A disgraced Wisconsin prosecutor secretly recorded himself having sex with three women, including one he was prosecuting. Daniel Steffen…[of] Wisconsin…was sentenced to 18 months in prison after he was convicted in April…“While the defendant and Victim #1 are still engaged in sex, the defendant looks at the camera, sticks his tongue out, and winks several times,” and can be heard repeatedly telling the victim, “Who’s in charge?” the complaint said…In addition to his prison time, Steffen must serve two years of extended supervision, four years of probation, and placement for 10 years on Wisconsin’s sex offender registry.
The bipartisan war on the internet moves us another step closer to idiocracy:
“[The internet causes] sex…trafficking, drug[s and death”, bloviate perennial nuisances] Lindsey Graham…and Elizabeth Warren…in t[he] New York Times…What follows is a litany of untrue statements and gross exaggerations about the way Big Tech operates and the purported harm done by the cluster of websites that millions of Americans willingly use on a daily basis…Warren and Graham go on to announce they’re introducing [another terrible internet-breaking law] to create [yet] an[other government agency]…”charged with licensing and policing…tech companies” which will be “nimble” and “adaptable” (just like all those other government agencies). The regulator will “prevent online harm” (by waving a magic wand and ensuring no bad actors ever go online); “promote free speech and competition”…by scrapping Section 230 and…”guard Americans’ privacy” (because government agencies do a great job at cybersecurity!…
Neither Addiction Nor Epidemic (#1293)
Blaming bad behavior on an imaginary “addiction” is the opposite of admitting responsibility:
[Actor] Terry Crews recently [attempt]ed [to avoid responsibility for abusive behavior toward his wofe and kids by blaming it on an imaginary “]porn addiction[” he melodramatically described as a]…”battle”…
It isn’t only celebrities who use this dodge to lessen their culpability:
[Indiana teacher] Christopher “Kit” Degenhart…[pled] guilty…to…seduc[ing a 17-year-old student in the theater department he headed]…Degenhart will spend one year behind bars while participating in a work release program. After one year, he’s scheduled to move into home detention while working in the program for six more months…he…will [then] be on two and a half years of probation…[inclu]ding sex addiction meetings…[and] regist[ration] as a sex offender…
Houston…will be eliminating librarian positions at 28 schools this upcoming year and converting the libraries into “[punishment] centers” where kids [declared to have] behavioral issues will be [confined]…This…[is] part of the new superintendent Mike Miles[‘ “]reform[“] program…[with the Orwellian title] New Education System…a total of 85 schools…have joined Miles’ program, and of those, 28 campuses will lose their librarians. The district said th[ose 28] will have the opportunity to transition to other roles within the district…[but] the [employment of the] remaining 57 NES schools’ librarians will be assessed on a case-by-case basis…
“Sexual offenses” sounds so much milder than “rape”:
The [typical and representative] chief constable of Devon and Cornwall Police is being investigated over serious allegations of sexual offences in Northern Ireland. Will Kerr was a [cop] in Northern Ireland for 27 years before [being promoted] in 2018…he said [she wanted it]…
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 117
Posted in Diary, tagged Sunset on August 4, 2023| 2 Comments »
The other major task I have to get done this summer, other than the chimney installation, is application of a Durabak coating to areas of the roof which have exhibited small but persistent leaks. Both of them are around areas where I’ve joined new roof sections to old, namely the western leaf of the atrium roof to the original house roof, and the awning roof to the shop roof. I used roof patch material to seal the former join, but for some reason water still comes through during heavy rain; I want to try to close that off for good. The latter actually has less to do with the join itself and more to do with the fact that the previous owners used substandard metal sheets for the shop roof; while I can walk on the atrium roof without causing problems, the shop roof slightly buckles every time it has to bear human weight. The result is that every time we’ve applied waterproofing material to the roof, the application process itself has damaged what we were trying to fix! I managed to seal up most of the problems last year, but there are still a few pinhole drips, so I’m going to cover the whole problem area with Durabak. While I’m at it, I also need to do the ramps because they get dangerously-slick in the rainy season, and none of the solutions we’ve tried have proven satisfactory. Of course, the already-pricey material has been just as affected by inflation as everything else, so although it still won’t cost as much as either the stovepipe or the bathroom and shower, it’s still up in the high triple-digits; if you’ve been planning to send a little financial support my way, now would probably be an especially good time. And barring issues, I should have pictures of my leak-free roof and skid-resistant ramps in the next month or so.
Just Another Throwback Thursday
Posted in Miscellaneous, Perception, Philosophy, Tyranny, tagged Acting and Activism, agency denial, blogging, dehumanization, fantasy, hysteria, prohibitionist myths, Throwback Thursday on August 3, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Remember, kids, an actor doesn’t actually have to be skeptical or rational to play a rational, skeptical character on TV. – “Traffic Updates”
If you get killed it’ll serve you right and teach your ghost a lesson, by golly!
– “A Friend in Need”
Prohibitionists only accuse me of dishonesty because I won’t support their ridiculous wanking fantasies of international cartels of magical ninja pimps with mind-control powers abducting screaming white girls from shopping malls and bus stops, transporting them around the country in dog crates, and serving them up to hundreds of salivating sex maniacs per week until their genitalia collapse and the diabolical monsters then dispose of them, presumably by flushing them down hotel toilets like unwanted goldfish. – “Cross-Examination“
We all own ourselves, body and soul, and absolutely nobody else has the right to claim ownership over us, to tell us what we can and cannot do with our bodies and lives, or to determine what is best for us; the concept that the “majority”, some “authority”, or the nebulous “state” has the right to use violence to abrogate our self-determination or punish us for our free choices is a moral abomination on par with slavery, and future generations will look back upon prohibition with the same disgust as we view the idea that one human being can literally own another. – “The Maze of Consent“
The only way to ensure that no amateurs are caught up in prostitution stings is to do away with prostitution stings. – “Real Sex“
In the News (#1360)
Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, The Dark Side, Tyranny, tagged Alabama, cops, fantasy, fascism, Georgia, Hollywood, hysteria, I Spy, If Men Were Angels, Moving Pictures, New York, Pennsylvania, pimps, prisons, prohibitionist myths, rescue industry, scams, Schadenfreude, serial killers, Served Cold, Shifting the Blame, streetwalkers, surveillance, Texas, The Face of Trafficking, The Widening Gyre, Torture Chamber, violence vs. sex workers, Washington (state) on August 2, 2023| Leave a Comment »
When a film claims to be “based on a true story,” it can still be 99% fiction. – Robert Gehrke
He wasn’t a “former pastor” when he murdered a little girl:
…83-year-old David Zandstra [has confessed to the]…murder of…[8-year-old] Gretchen Harrington…on August 15, 1975. Zandstra was a pastor at…Trinity Church Chapel Christian Reform Church [in Media, Pennsylvania], where Harrington was going to [Bible] camp…[when Harrington’s] skeletal remains were found…[Zanstra was questioned but claimed he hadn’t seen her that day. Then]…earlier this year, investigators learned Zandstra [had] groped a girl, who was best friends with his daughter, years ago…In [her] diary from 1975, she noted that she thought Zandstra kidnapped Harrington…[when confronted] in Marietta, Georgia, where he [now] lives…Zandstra admitted…he [had] offered Harrington a ride and took her to a wooded area…[where] he [tried to molest her, then fatally]…struck [her] in the head with a fist when she refused…he…[then] cover[ed her] body and [fled] the scene…
The Face of Trafficking (#585)
Another case of what really happens when a wannabe “pimp” abducts a girl:
Terrique Devon Milam, 19, [and an unnamed 17-year-old were] charged with…promotion of prostitution…[after being] arrested Thursday, July 20, by…Seattle Police…[when a] father…reported that his daughter was being held against her will…his daughter had told him she could not leave, shared her location and abruptly hung up the call…The victim told police she met a woman in her home state of Texas who…[had shared an especially-silly version of the “gypsy whore” myth with] her…she [was abducted by]…several [wannabe] pimps…[who for] two weeks [took her] to and from Aurora Avenue…[by] two men [who stole] the money she earned…
Note the lack of actual “sex trafficking” charges, despite the attempt to invoke the “sex trafficking at sporting events” myth.
The government thinks you shouldn’t be allowed any privacy whatsoever:
…From the bluntly named World War II-era Director of Censorship’s power to restrict mail, to the 1873 Comstock Act fueling the power of the post to [censor] contraception information…to the PATRIOT Act’s many tentacles, the Post Office hides nasty habits under its all-American exterior…Mail covers involve the USPS recording any information displayed on the outside, then giving that information to [cop shops and spook houses]. It is…a kind of metadata for the analog realm that gives a…picture of who the suspect knows, what they are interested in, and sometimes where they have gone…The USPS has also not released data about mail covers since 2014…[but] “no higher authority, judge or otherwise, needs to endorse the process”…A legal concept called the third party doctrine…broadly says that if you willingly give your information over to a phone company, an internet service provider, or the post office…you do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy…
Fascism in action, profiting from human misery:
The price of bottled water [has gone] up 50% in prison commissaries across Texas…as [humans locked in the filthy cages] struggle to endure an entrenched and deadly heatwave in facilities without air conditioning. The state raised the price from $4.80 per case (24 bottles) to $7.20 per case [after]…vendor Royal Pacific Tea Company requested to raise the prices in March even though it contract was incomplete. The price…[gouging was obtained via kickbacks to] the state comptroller’s office and…Texas Department of Criminal Justice…the men have access to tap water. But…the water quality [in] the aging prisons [is far below acceptable standards]…the smell…resembl[es] sewage…[and] has [been] described…as “rancid” smelling…
Will we ever know the connection between this guy and disgraced former Police Chief James Burke?
…authorities [have begun] digging up the Long Island…home of Rex Heuermann, the man suspected of killing at least three women found at Gilgo Beach, and reportedly found a soundproof room in Heuermann’s basement that they think at least one woman may have died in…[they] are excavating his backyard, and…brought cadaver dogs and radar tools to the property…Heuermann’s wife, Asa Ellerup…has since filed for divorce…and…Heuermann is a “prime suspect” in the death of a fourth woman, Marueen Brainard-Barnes, who disappeared in July 2007…
At least this one confessed quickly:
[Carlee Russell] has confessed to fabricating a story that she was kidnapped after stopping to check on a toddler she saw walking on the side of the interstate…there was no kidnapping…she did not leave the city, and acted alone…it is possible that Russell could face charges. [Cops] are trying to determine where she was in the two days she was gone…
The schadenfreude of watching Tim Ballard’s reputation go down in flames is so very sweet:
Ballard’s [highly-exaggerated] version of the story [he claims inspired him to profit from “sex trafficking” hysteria] provides the basis for the new film, Sound of Freedom, which has [not] done [as] well at the box office [as its promoters pretend]…But in the movie, even more liberties are taken…there are obvious discrepancies between the story Ballard tells and the narrative in court documents…When embellished or exaggerated or untrue statements are used to raise money, it becomes…problematic…much of Ballard’s origin story is flatly, provably false, and the people who have donated tens of millions of dollars to Ballard’s organizations deserve to know how much of what he has told them is true and how much has been concocted to fuel his celebrity status and ego.
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