There is no huge difference…in the lives of [prisoners]…based on whether a Democrat or Republican is in office. – Julie Abbate
First They Came for the Hookers… (#573)
Politicians believe they can excuse hypocrisy by the magic word “illicit”:
A [Mississippi] bill meant to eradicate the state’s individual income tax does not apply to sex workers…”all…income derived from producing, distributing, directing, manufacturing, issuing, publishing or advertising any depiction of sexually explicit conduct shall be at the rate of five percent (5%),” House Bill No. 1 reads…[bill sponsor Trey] Lamar did not explain why he included [the provision, except to vomit]…”illegal and illicit activity”…[at] reporters…The Clarion Ledger [has] contacted a labor attorney to discuss whether a state singling out one form of legal employment for taxation is legal…
Paint By Numbers (#1006) 
Silly “awareness raising” stunts by crowds of idiots are a relic of the last decade; now they’re merely marketing gimmicks:
A car show and cruise featuring 120 vehicles… [w]as part of an annual fundraiser put on by In-N-Out Burger’s [Christian fundamentalist] owner[s]…The event, called Cruisin’ 2 Freedom, benefits Slave 2 Nothing, a [profiteer group] that [uses “]human trafficking[” as a hook to separate fools from their money]…Benjamin Nolot…of Exodus Cry [shared his sexual fantasies about underage girls]…
The Course of a Disease (#1209)
Ruhama, the current DBA of the gang of prohibitionist nuns who enslaved Irish women in the “Magdalene laundries” for centuries, not only pushed the horrific “Swedish model” despite knowing that it would increase violence against sex workers, but actually celebrated the increase in violence when it happened exactly as predicted. Now they’re predictably trying to widen their repression by demanding both internet censorship and increased surveillance of Irish citizens, not to mention more police violence against vulnerable women, by vomiting out the same propaganda they’ve used for the past two decades but pretending it’s new and based in “research”. I’m not even going to bother quoting this same nonsense, barfed up by long-time Ruhama fantasist Ruth Breslin, but the link is there if you feel inclined to wade in sewage.
No Escape (#1372)
Your “leaders” refer to this as “correction”:
On the first day of his second presidential term, Donald Trump severely restricted transgender prisoners’ access to safe housing and proper medical care…one order bars the federal government from funding gender-affirming care, mandates that trans women be housed in men’s prisons, and instructs the federal government to remove protections for transgender people from Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) guidelines…
Censorship Ascendant (#1494)
The First Amendment is now being eroded just like many of the others:
Bias reporting systems have been popping up in one form or another across more than a dozen state and city municipalities in the last four years, usually consisting of an online portal or telephone number where citizens are encouraged to submit reports…of speech and behavior that are not only not crimes, but also First Amendment-protected expression…In Oregon, citizens can report “offensive ‘jokes’” and “imitating someone’s cultural norm or practice”…In Philadelphia…authorities fielding “hate incidents” can now ask for exact [names and] addresses…about the alleged offending party…city officials will in some cases “contact those accused of bias and request that they attend sensitivity training”…to teach you the error of your ways…
The Puritan Recrudescence (#1503)
“Age verification” laws are bad for speech, but good for VPN business:
In recent years, the implementation of age verification laws for adult content websites has sparked a significant surge in VPN demand across…the United States…The data paints a clear picture of the soaring demand for VPN services in states such as Florida (1,150%), Oklahoma (1,060%), Utah (967%), and Alabama (542%), among others…The use of VPNs has become a popular workaround for individuals seeking unrestricted access to online content. Thus, despite the geo-blocking measures, Pornhub’s traffic reached an all-time high, surpassing 1.8 billion visits by late 2024…
To Molest and Rape (ROTW #17) 
Cops should not be allowed anywhere near legal minors:
A Corpus Christi [Texas cop has been] arrested [for repeated statutory rape of] a 15-year-old…Daniel Verduzco’s [creepy behavior was not discovered until the girl’s]…family…moved to Tulsa in early 2024…[after a suicide attempt,] the girls’ [mother]…went through her [phone]…and found pictures of…a c[learly]…adult [cop and interrogated]…her daughter…[about him]. Tulsa police…contacted Homeland Security…in Corpus Christi…
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!
Like me, Grace was estranged from her family; she had been close to her mother and stepfather, but her mother died about two years before we met, and her stepfather passed about 20 years ago. But neither of her siblings seemed interested in keeping in touch, and she hadn’t spoken to her daughter since an ugly, acrimonious divorce in the early ’90s. So when the mortician told me that there would be a delay in cremation due to legal requirements that they attempt to contact her next of kin, I was irritated but unsurprised. It wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been; they called me Friday to tell me the numbers they could find were all either disconnected or unresponsive, so they were going ahead with the arrangements we’d discussed. And in a few weeks, when the weather improves, I’m going to have friends over for a memorial and spreading of her ashes, because that was what she wanted. Jae told me a few days ago that Grace had told her that after her passing, she wanted her tools to go to a reservation school for use in shop classes; I’m trying to get in touch with tribal governments to find a likely candidate. Though she hadn’t mentioned it to me, I have no doubt that Jae understood her correctly; over the time I’ve known her she has become increasingly interested in her heritage, and her tools were her most prized possessions so she’d want them to be used rather than just collecting dust or rust.
