[Texas politicians are] trying to drive a car from 30,000 feet in the air by remote control. – Joey Velasco
A society can be judged by the way it treats its prisoners:
The Trump [regime] and the president of El Salvador…struck a deal allowing the U.S. to ship both detained migrants and imprisoned citizens to the tiny Central American nation…[even though it is illegal for] the U.S. government [to] deport American citizens…Bukele has made El Salvador’s stark, harsh prisons a trademark of his aggressive fight against [civil rights]. Since March 2022, more than 84,000 people have been [locked up without] due process…packed into cells without enough bunks for everyone…Bukele…plan[s] to [cram even] more people in[to his] mega-prison…prisoners…do not receive visits. There are no programs preparing them to return to society after their sentences…[because the government plans to] never allow…[them] outside…ever [again]…
Long Island public radio station WSHU recently published a bizarrely-anachronistic article that reads like something from the height of “sex trafficking” hysteria, 13 years ago; given that NPR was a major font of “sex trafficking” wanking fantasies, I reckon that isn’t too surprising, but it’s still weird to see both politicians and stenographic “reporters” who apparently didn’t read the memo that “sex trafficking” is now a “right-wing conspiracy theory” rather than something taken seriously by people who are not complete lunatics. The piece calls “sex trafficking” an “epidemic” and employs both a “King of the Hill” claim and the “Facebook pimps” myth to infantilize sex workers as “children” looking for “love”, before making the facially-absurd statement that Suffolk County’s is the first “trafficking court” in New York.
In 2021, a school district in Newton, Massachusetts, got rid of advanced classes in a [poorly-considered] bid to…reduc[e] achievement gaps between racial groups, [presumably by osmosis]…several parents brought up…concerns with the…policy—but…were smeared as “racists” and “right-wingers”…But years later…teachers themselves are…openly criticizing multilevel classes, arguing that it isn’t serving students’ needs…”I’ve heard about multilevel classes from many, many parents over the last three years, and the feedback has been consistently negative,” School Committee member Rajeev Parlikar said…”I actually have not heard from a single parent who thought their child benefited from being in a multilevel class”…the district is now working on reinstating leveled classes…
“This isn’t just about privacy — it’s about the future of secure communication itself“:
…the UK government has…ordered Apple to create a backdoor that would allow them to access encrypted content from any Apple user worldwide…Apple [has] warned it might have to exit the UK market if pushed too far…[but] even…[that] won’t satisfy the UK’s demands…for backdoor access to the service in other countries, including the United States…Apple would be barred from warning its users that its most advanced encryption no longer provided full security…the UK isn’t just demanding the power to break encryption globally, they’re demanding the right to force Apple to actively deceive its users about the security of their data…
Morally-bankrupt businesses make morally-bankrupt business deals:
Gambling companies are covertly tracking visitors to their websites and sending their data to Facebook…without consent…the information is then being used by Facebook…to profile people as gamblers and flood them with ads for casinos and betting sites…
Control-freak politicians need to be targeted by so many lawsuits they’re driven into ruin:
Several large book publishers, a tiny public library and others are suing Idaho [politicians] over a law that forces libraries to keep some books in an adults-only section if…[a politician points at them and belches] “harmful to minors.” The Donnelly Library, Penguin Random House and the others [are] suing [because] the law is overly vague and [blatantly] violates the First Amendment rights of students, librarians and other residents by forcing libraries to sequester literary classics like Slaughterhouse-Five and A Clockwork Orange. It’s the second such lawsuit filed in Idaho. A coalition of small private schools and libraries sued last summer, and that case is ongoing. Similar cases have been filed in Arkansas, Iowa, Florida, Texas and other states with laws restricting access to books in libraries or schools…
Surely you didn’t think they’d be satisfied with only vandalizing libraries and primary schools:
This year, the [sociopath]-controlled Texas Legislature is expected to [undermine] liberal [education] at the state’s public, four-year universities…[by further] ban[ning]…programs [they dislike] and tr[y]ing…to…limit the influence of professors on their [students]…they have vowed to crack down on…free speech on campus. And they are proposing again to end in-state tuition for undocumented students…and…eliminate tenure…
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!
