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Archive for the ‘Philosophy’ Category

Throwback Thursday or Die

Posted in Miscellaneous, Philosophy, Tyranny, Words, tagged , , , , , , on November 20, 2025| 2 Comments »

The speed at which censorship, up to and including calls for literal book-burning, has increased in the past few years is horrifying to any thinking person.  –  “Censorship Roundup”

Cannabis [is]…not a Magic Wonder Weed from the Muses which will mystically plant art in the barren soil of unimaginative brains; it’s more akin to a cabin in the woods or a studio soundproofed against traffic noise.
–  “Holy Moly”

As a teen, I thought most folks were ignorant fools with atrocious beliefs. Then I grew older & wiser, and realized their beliefs being different from mine didn’t make them wrong or foolish. Then I grew older & wiser still, and realized I’d been mostly correct in the 1st place.  –  “Tweet Charity”

“We” is a pronoun favored by bootlickers, useful idiots, collectivists, and other sleazebags in an attempt to shift much of the blame for their collaboration with evil onto the reader and others who had nothing to do with it, or even opposed it.  –  “All the Tweets are Brown”

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Sugar Tweets

Posted in History, Miscellaneous, Music, Philosophy, Tyranny, Words, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 17, 2025| 1 Comment »

The left-right nonsense, once confined to politics, has in the past 30-someodd years penetrated all of US culture like cat spray.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-10-13T18:19:23.319Z

Any slang term is moribund when it is used to describe a number of different, sometimes unrelated or even contradictory, things. "Cringe" has now reached that point; proceed accordingly.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-10-19T17:52:18.693Z

I'm ready to listen to him; he can't be THAT much worse than what we have now.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-10-20T17:58:53.721Z

Until I got on social media, I would never have suspected that there were so many people in the US who never, ever, EVER need to transport cargo or disabled people, or travel more than 100 km from their homes.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-10-21T17:14:00.903Z

One of the more interesting aspects of this time period for me is that I get to see other people saying or agreeing with the kind of statements I've incessantly made for over 40 years, mostly to eye-rolling and dismissal.You bet I'm gonna say "I told you so".

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-10-22T07:37:13.312Z

Actually, if one considers the political conditions which allowed Trump to ascend to the throne and carry out his reign of madness, it is far more accurate to say Trump is working to finish the job Bin Laden started.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-10-23T17:49:38.750Z

I'm trying to get this to fit the meter of "My Little Buckaroo" and not succeeding.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-10-24T18:11:09.142Z

Oh please, please, PLEASE let it be so. It'll be much easier for the Invertebrate Party to agree to tear it down if it's structurally unsound.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-10-25T17:42:06.630Z

This weird 21st-century shit of Trick-or-Treating at random times on random days in October determined by mobs or politicians, instead of on Halloween night, was a sign of cultural decline. Too bad so few recognized that.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-10-27T17:19:11.215Z

I've decided to start blocking anyone who admits to using a chatbot to write, or obviously does so in the absence of omission. I have no interest in reading computer vomit.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-10-28T17:40:53.747Z

The Mechanical Turk redux.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-10-29T07:39:43.119Z

Ever since the "Department of Homeland Security" was created by Bush II, I have referred to it as the "Department of Fatherland Security". People used to claim I was exaggerating. I don't hear that accusation much any more.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-10-29T19:39:13.880Z

Once again, mainstream voices are starting to agree with what I've been saying since high school > 40 years ago. But knowing what it took to shake people out of their ovine complacency and childish "leader" fantasies, I take no real pleasure in having been right. Cassandra was not a happy person.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-10-31T18:23:18.074Z

Louisiana, will you please get Landry off his knees? Nobody wants to see their private activities.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-02T02:59:52.276Z

Anybody who's ever had young children knows what it looks like when they're actively engaged in pooping their diapers.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-02T18:03:11.334Z

The more often you call politicians "leaders", the more they will behave like Führers.Go back to calling them "public servants" and treat them like servants rather than nobles.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-03T18:19:14.325Z

Humans are the ONLY entities we know who can make ANY art, "great" or otherwise.Computer output is not art. Period. End of discussion.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-04T18:04:19.468Z

Democratic politicians are so brave about criticizing Republican politicians when the subject is dead.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-05T17:36:53.488Z

I'm afraid I'm committed to the ancient-forest-haunting gig for at least the next millennium, or until the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter exorcises me.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-06T08:25:21.562Z

Carl Sagan did not believe in an afterlife. But if he was wrong, I hope he haunts these people into madness.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-07T18:18:30.556Z

"Abducted". They ABDUCTED her from a daycare. "Took" is for inanimate objects, not people, and even then only if they have the owner's permission; otherwise the correct verb is "stole".RIGHT: "A goon took his lunch to work".WRONG: "A goon took a teacher's phone."WRONG: "Goons took a teacher."

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-08T19:06:43.666Z

Oh, well that makes it all better, then.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-09T08:26:07.790Z

You know, Democrats, y'all don't have to keep proving me right, really. I mean, I appreciate the thought, but I'm a big girl and can handle being proven wrong once in a while. Truthfully, it'd be kinda nice.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-10T18:22:33.566Z

Stop referring the characters in computer-generated videos as they were people. These videos are animations, even if they look real; those who appear in them are therefore cartoon characters, and should be described as such.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-11T17:44:21.958Z

Reporters: please stop using the word "shocking" to describe the actions of the Trump regime. Anybody who is still shocked by Trumpist behavior after 10 months of this is either hopelessly stupid or deeply in need of professional help.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-12T22:23:07.794Z

"Drug boat!" is the new "It's coming right for us!" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTrM…

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-14T20:12:22.312Z

This buffoon is so fixated on winning vs losing, he actually thinks a medical test is like a school test. It's obvious in the way he refers to things like getting an "outstanding" result from an MRI.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-15T08:20:55.352Z

For the same reason she's advertising her IQ on her hat.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-16T17:41:53.127Z

 

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The War on Knowledge

Posted in Current Events, History, Philosophy, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 14, 2025| Leave a Comment »

It’s the most…emperor-has-no-clothes-type situation that I have ever witnessed.  –  Alison Macrina

As I pointed out a few weeks ago, it’s not unusual these days for a news item to fall into more than one category, and as the fascist tech industry provides ever more tools for oppression, that will happen ever more often.  Here’s a recent one from 404 Media which examines the way artificial stupidity is being used to further library censorship while simultaneously flooding the system with garbage intended to drown out the signal of real information with propaganda, disinformation, and LLM gobbledygook noise:

…a company called the Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database [has] announced a new version of a product called Class-Shelf Plus…used by school libraries to keep track of which books are in their catalog…[the] new [version] includ[es]…“automation and contextual risk analysis”…The company…is [trying to trick]…school libraries [into believing their product can help]…“in overcoming a book ban”…[when what it actually does is to encourage the censorship by] simply suggest[ing] other books “without the c[ensor]ed content”…software like this is just the tip of the iceberg; [librarians] are being inundated with new pitches for…library tech and catalogs are being flooded with [LLM] slop books that they need to wade through.  But more broadly, [ML] maximalism across society is supercharging the ideological war on libraries, schools, government workers, and academics…[the aggressive promotion of what is deceptively advertised as “artificial intelligence”] is not separate from book bans, educational censorship efforts, and the war on education, libraries, and government workers being pushed by…any number of MAGA groups…Human labor, inquiry, creativity, and expertise is spurned…[because hucksters claim] anything can be learned, approximated, or created in seconds.  And…an LLM or a machine algorithm can [be programmed by agents of a censorious state to] decide whether content is “sensitive”…

…The resurgent war on knowledge, academics, expertise, and critical thinking…has its roots in the hugely successful recent war on “critical race theory,” “diversity equity and inclusion,” and LGBTQ+ rights that painted librarians, teachers, scientists, and public workers as untrustworthy…There are DOGE’s mass layoffs of “woke” government workers, and the plan to replace them with [chatbo]ts…There are “parents rights” groups that pushed to ban books and curricula that deal with the teaching of slavery, systemic racism, and LGBTQ+ issues and attempted to replace them with [propaganda]…Many teachers feel they…increasingly [waste] their days grading student essays that were actually written by robots…

…Justin, a cohost of the podcast librarypunk, [characterizes this as]…“Part of a fascist project to offload the work of thinking, especially the reflective kind of thinking that…cultivates empathy and challenges your assumptions…If we can offload that cognitive work, it’s far too easy to become reflexive and hateful, while having a robot cheerleader telling you that you were right about everything all along”…The future being pushed by both [ML] boosters and educational censors is one where access to information is tightly controlled.  Children will not be allowed to read certain books or learn certain narratives.  “Research” will be performed only through one of a select few [computer programs] owned by…giant…[fascist corporations] which are…[part of] the Trump [regime] and which have gone to the ends of the earth to prevent their black box machines from spitting out “woke” answers lest they catch the ire of the [mad emperor]…One need look no further than [Elon Musk’s misnamed “]Grokipedia[“]…a project by the world’s richest man…to replace a crowdsourced, meticulously edited fount of human knowledge with a robotic imitation built to further his political project…

…Justin, from librarypunk, said [chatbots have] given people “absolute impunity to ignore reality…[it] is a direct attack on the way we verify information…[because it] both creates fake sources and obscures its actual sources.”  That is the opposite of what librarians do, and teachers do, and scientists do, and experts do…

There is a LOT more, and you should read it in its entirety.

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Throwback Thursday’s Guest

Posted in History, Miscellaneous, Perception, Philosophy, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on November 13, 2025| Leave a Comment »

There’s nothing wrong with “sexological bodywork”, as long as you understand that…[it’s] no different from what many thousands of sex workers do every day, all over the world, without the fancy title.  –  “Accredited Whores (#1187)”

The time is long overdue to end the war machine, before it ends all of us.  –  “Armistice Day 2022”

[Crypto-moralist] “logic” is that of a cartoon character “curing” someone’s headache by hitting their foot with a giant mallet.
–  “Thou Shalt Not (#1387)”

Absolutely no one, regardless of how fancy his title, how many degrees he has, or how many votes he receives in a popularity contest, can be trusted with power over others.  –  “The Power of the Powerless“

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In the News (#1588)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Philosophy, The Dark Side, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 12, 2025| Leave a Comment »

The real debate [is] whether technology this dangerous should even exist.  –  “Ban Facial Recognition”

If Men Were Angels

Another fine example of McNeill’s Law:

California [youth] pastor Joshua David Kemper [has been] arrested…[for repeatedly molest]ing a 15-year-old girl…in his…church…[after grooming her with] explicit messages, photos and videos…Kemper [has] a…[history of spreading propaganda on] Facebook [claiming] LGBTQ+ people [a]re a danger to youngsters…

Without Let or Hindrance (#1459)

“Child protection” has become an all-purpose excuse for state violence:

Teams of armed federal [goons] have been making unannounced [raids on] the homes of immigrant families across Memphis [us]ing…the [excuse] of…“wellness checks’’…[on] undocumented children…[and barfing the magic formula “]human trafficking[” at their victims as a]…pretext to…arrest as many immigrants as possible…The FBI…confirmed it is co[llabo]rating [with]…the Department of [Father]land Security…in…the [scheme]…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1461) 

It’s much too late for this in the US, but it may inspire activists in less-fascist countries:

Facial recognition technology is unreliable, unjust, and a threat to basic rights and safety…which is why we [should have] act[ed] to stop it [years ago]…Like nuclear or biological weapons, facial recognition’s threat to human society and civil liberties far outweighs any potential benefits…Industry-friendly and government-friendly oversight will not fix the…inherent [dangers]…we need an all-out ban…Facial recognition is unlike any other form of surveillance…[because] it enables automated and ubiquitous monitoring of an entire population, and it is nearly impossible to avoid…

The Last Shall Be First (#1518) 

Oklahoma politicians want to foist liability for their unconstitutional laws onto local governments:

Oklahoma[‘s new bill]…H.B. 1217 d[oes] not explicitly mention drag performers.  But [its] supporters…such as…Dusty Deevers…made it clear that…”We’re basically banning drag shows in front of kids”…[censorious politician]s have taken to using the term “obscenity” colloquially to describe all sorts of sexual…content…they don’t like, particularly…homosexuality or gender bending…But the…average drag show does not rise to the level of [legal] obscenity…so…[politicians are] threatening to hold municipalities criminally [li]able for allowing “obscene” performances…[by demanding they]…make sure [any approved event] “will not be obscene.”  [But] whether a performance or art work is obscene is something to decided by juries after the material exists.  Government authorities can’t decide in advance of a performance or event that it might contain obscenity and therefore can’t happen…Technically, H.B. 1217 doesn’t require prior review or prior restraint.  It just [threatens] that a government body that allows a…[performance later deemed] obscene…can be prosecuted for it…

Sexcrime (#1519)

It’s been less than seven years since the UK lost in court the last time it tried this:

The UK government has o[nce again reintroduced]…the…porn ban [struck down in court in February 2019, excusing the attempt by barfing the magic formula “]violence against women[” and defaming people who enjoy this kind of porn as “]criminals[” regardless of consent.  Politician]…Alex Davies-Jones [spouted out threats against both individuals and]…firms [extending] even [to] prison sentences…[belching “]Ofcom can go after the platform]….and…[“]children[“], then…[unscientific nonsense about how what lay people “]believe[” about porn [trumps actual facts]…

Just laws are intended to correct wrongs, not to allow governments to persecute (“go after”) people who have not actually harmed anyone.

Walled Garden (#1573)

Psychopathic techlords are giving psychopathic politicians new excuses for surveillance and censorship:

The…CHAT Act of 2025 is Washington’s newest attempt to regulate speech through mandatory age checks…[in order to] normalize showing a government ID for basic online speech.  The CHAT Act [claims] to target fictional role-play bots [of the type that regularly drive fragile minds into psychosis, but]…defines a chatbot so broadly that anything that “simulates emotional interaction” could be restricted…[including] some video game characters…or…customer service bot[s.  Since nothing will stop tech companies’ insane crusade to cram their fake “AI” garbage into everything, the likely result would be the imposition]…of…ID verification…into nearly every digital product…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1586)

These things are designed to appeal to the dregs of humanity:

A number of Instagram accounts with hundreds of thousands of followers and millions of views…upload…videos filmed with [Facebook]’s Ray-Ban glasses [that] show men entering massage parlors across the country and soliciting the workers…In some cases, the women laugh at the men [or] dismiss them…but in a few cases they discuss specific se[rvices] and [prices]…the women [clearly don’t] know they are being filmed and that the videos are being shared online…This is extremely dangerous [because] the women…can be targeted by both [violent rapists who work for the state] and [those who don’t.  Facebook]…has built an entire supply chain for dangerous, privacy violating content on the internet.  It sells glasses that allow people to surreptitiously film others in public and operates a social network where inflammatory, outrageous content is rewarded and monetized, and [nothing is done about it until]…journalists reach out for comment…the company [hides behind the fact that]…“our glasses [show] an LED light [when]…recording”…[ignoring the fact that] people can pay $60 for a modification to…disable that…SWAN…[reports these] disgusting and dangerous…videos, and…use[s its] Abuser Alert system to notify workers…

 

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!

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Armistice Day 2025

Posted in History, Holidays, Philosophy, Tyranny, tagged on November 11, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Armistice Day has become Veterans’ Day. Armistice Day was sacred. Veterans’ Day is not.  –  Kurt Vonnegut, Breakfast of Champions

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Socks for Christmas

Posted in Current Events, Philosophy, Tyranny, tagged , , , , on November 7, 2025| Leave a Comment »

I don't know what's worse, the fact that I'm surprised by this headline or the fact that I probably shouldn't be:

— Qenny (@akbrews.bsky.social) 2025-10-29T13:02:56.000Z

Don’t do this; little kids should not be responsible for feeding their families.  This is like giving them socks as a Christmas present.  Obviously, this tweet appeared much too late for me to feature it before Halloween, but Christmas is less than two months off and I’m sure well-meaning puritans who are wholly ignorant of child psychology will probably be back at it again in three weeks.  It also gives me an opportunity to launch a sort of pre-season toy drive; regular readers know that I start my annual toy drive the day after Thanksgiving, but since I expect toys to be extra-expensive due to Ebenezer Trump’s anti-Christmas tariffs and many of my readers to have less to share this year, I think it’s a good idea to start a bit early.   If you’re not hurting economically yourself, please consider donating!

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Throwback Thursday 3000

Posted in Biography, History, Miscellaneous, Philosophy, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , on November 6, 2025| Leave a Comment »

I never thought I’d be doing this blog for so long I’d start repeating myself, yet here we are.  –  “Countless Times”

Though all things must pass, none are so ephemeral as those good times with good friends that, in retrospect, seem almost magical.  –
“Day of the Dead 2022”

All government is rooted in the idea that might makes right.  –
“Guy Fawkes Day 2023”

For over 200 years now, Americans have stood by while the executive branch increases its own power, then leaves the newly-expanded powers to anyone their ideological enemies manage to get into the White House.  –  “Guy Fawkes Day 2024“

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Guy Fawkes Day 2025

Posted in Holidays, Philosophy, Tyranny, tagged , , , on November 5, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Since I’ve already said plenty on this subject, it hardly seems necessary to say more about the danger of giving governments too much power, when that is currently being demonstrated clearly and irrefutably every single day.  So I’ll just share this image of a sign Grace had near her desk.

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Day of the Dead 2025

Posted in Holidays, Philosophy, tagged , , , on November 1, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Gerontocracy is the enemy of human progress.  –  “Eros and Thanatos”

Every year on this day I remind my readers about the inevitability and goodness of Death, and this year is no exception.  Some may believe that the passing of my beloved friend Grace has changed that, but that is not so; both of us knew we must one day be parted by death, and both of us knew that given her poor health and greater age, it was very likely she would go first.  Unlike the powerful and privileged men who embrace childish fantasies about life extension or even immortality to assuage their fear of the dark, I do not whine and stomp my feet in protest of the fact that I and all I love must die, nor waste my life in vain and foolish denial of reality.  If anything, my tears spring from the opposite source.  I do not weep because my best friend died; I weep because I have to go on living without her.

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