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Posts Tagged ‘California’

In the News (#1612)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 11, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Federal authorities should not be able to turn civil commitment into a life sentence for anyone the government deems inconvenient.  –  Matt Cavedon

Schadenfreude

It’s heartening to see so many rescue industry profiteers exposed as the sociopaths they are:

A multimillionaire British businessman [on the board of a rescue industry outfit was cozy with]…Jeffrey Epstein [for years] after [Epstein was a] convicted sex offender…Lyndon Lea…visited Epstein in Palm Beach and attended [at least one of Epstein’s wild] part[ies]…Lea…[is on] the board of Not For Sale, which aims to [profit from the 2010s era hysteria over]…commercial sex…the men…spoke regularly in 2010, had contact in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 and were last in touch in April 2016…

If Men Were Angels

You’d think “youth pastor” would be a big red flag by now:

A[n Idaho] youth pastor [named Isaiah Teague has been] sentenced to life in prison for…sexually abusi[ng a]…14-year-old…for over a year…he [gained her compliance by repeatedly]…threaten[ing to]…make her “disappear” if she told anyone…the victim’s mother…found messages on her daughter’s phone discussing the assaults with a friend…Teague [pretended to be] a close friend of the victim’s family and…[often molested her] while his wife and child were sleeping nearby…The court also imposed a 50-year no-contact order between Teague and all minors…

Banishment (#1587)

It only starts with people the government has demonized:

[The] Trump [regime wants to]…involuntarily commit…more Americans with mental illnesses [by barfing] “restore public order” [at useful idiots]…The government argues that it can seek to involuntarily commit anyone within its physical custody, even after losing any legal basis for holding them…Why bother going through the hassle of due process when the government could just arrest someone, identify a mental illness, dismiss the charges, and then seek commitment?  After all…nearly half of all jail inmates have mental health problems…replacing the constitutional rights of accused Americans with a shadow system of federal involuntary commitment is a haunting prospect when so many people are diagnosable as mentally ill and so many federal crimes exist to detain them for…

The Last Shall Be First (#1588) 

These lunatics will not stop until they are forced to stop:

…[an] Arizona [politician wants to invent]…a…new criminal offense [called] “unlawful exposure to drag show performances”…a…felony…[equal to] robbery, forgery…and…aggravated assault…[sponsor Michael] Way’s bill would define…[this so loosely a parent could be convicted for lett]ing a 16-year-old [watch old Bosom Buddies reruns]…or…a show that merely featured a transgender person…

Perhaps we need to make it a felony to propose a bill that is facially unconstitutional.

No Escape (#1598)

An unusually-blatant case of extremely typical screw behavior:

In leaked videos from California’s largest women’s prison, guards stand in a line facing dozens of [helpless, many disabled] women gathered around cafeteria tables.  Suddenly, a guard fires [pepper] spray from a long red canister.  Other guards join in, [also]…throwing…smoke grenades…[at] women [who] had been rounded up…in retaliation for [report]ing s[screws who raped and otherwise sexually assaulted them]…The leaked videos were posted by [a former screw named] Hector Ferrel, [not because he cares about the women but rather in furtherance of his own]…lawsuit…A…federal lawsuit seeking class-action status was filed on behalf of the nearly 160 [victims]…the [attack]…came in retaliation against the women of Delta Yard cell block…[after a screw named] Isidro Arroyo, [who]…is the leader of the “Delta Dogs,” a gang…of…[rapist screws, tried to intimidate the victims into withdrawing their complaints by steal]ing [and destroying] their property..a means of…control [commonly used by abusive men]…

Mad Libs (#1604)

Tech journalists are complicit in selling this dangerous fantasy to fools:

A growing number of [fools] are asking…chatbots [medical advice, thanks to sleazy tech companies lying that they can “]provide remarkably useful medical insights[“]…Lotus Health AI…[wants] to facilitate actual medical care, including diagnosis, prescriptions, and specialist referrals…Since [the company knows full well that LLM] models are…prone to [what are being called “]hallucinations[“, it plans to cover its butt by having] board-certified human doctors…review the final diagnoses, lab orders, and medical prescriptions…

Shame, Shame (#1605)

It’s good to see politicians attacking an actual evil for a change:

T[witter’s] French offices…have been raided by the Paris prosecutor’s cyber-crime unit, as part of an investigation into…child pornography…both [Elon] Musk and former [Twitter boss] Linda Yaccarino ha[ve] been su[bpoenaed] to appear at hearings in April…French prosecutors say they are [also] investigating…[Musk’s] infringement of people’s image rights [by allowing MechaHitler to create] sexual deepfakes…Meanwhile, UK authorities… [at the censorship bureau] Ofcom [have] launched [their own] investigations…[in]to…the creation of illegal images by [MechaHitler]…

 

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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Smoke Screen

Posted in Fiction, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , on February 9, 2026| 1 Comment »

I’m currently re-watching The Fugitive, one of the high points of 20th-century television drama.  Like many of the shows I enjoy, I was too young to remember the show in its initial run (1963-67), but when our local PBS station, WYES, picked it up in syndication in the mid-’80s, I watched it every Sunday night and enjoyed it thoroughly; though most of the shows I watched then, as now, were science fiction or fantasy, “the characters who interested me most were always outsiders, weirdos, and outlaws such as vigilantes, monster-hunters, and fugitives“.  For those unfamiliar with the premise, Dr. Richard Kimble is wrongly convicted for the murder of his wife, but on his way to death row by train, “Fate moves its huge hand” and a derailment allows him to escape.  For four years, Dr. Kimble, engagingly portrayed by David Janssen, moved around the country, trying to hide from the relentless Lt. Gerard (Barry Morse), the Inspector Javert-like cop obsessed with his recapture, while himself hunting the real murderer, a one-armed man he saw fleeing his house just before discovering his wife’s body.  The show was the first one on US television to pay close attention to continuity, and the first to feature a concluding episode:  that episode, in which Kimble finally catches the one-armed man and proves his innocence, was the highest-rated television episode of all time for decades.

One of the things I enjoy about watching classic TV shows is playing “Spot the Actor“; in this show I’m also recognizing musical cues in every episode, because the show drew on the CBS music library and featured many of the pieces Bernard Herrmann and others wrote for The Twilight Zone.  But one of the most striking things for me is seeing just how much attitudes have changed in the past 60 years.  Overall, there’s the fact that for four years, one of the highest-rated series in a country now in love with cop glorification shows was one in which the cops were the bad guys in every single episode, and the hero regularly assaulted them and escaped from their clutches, often with the help of people he’d met who saw his innate goodness and nobility (especially because that nobility often got him into trouble when he felt compelled to stick his neck out to help people instead of just not getting involved).

An episode I saw last week, however, was even more striking.  In “Smoke Screen“, Kimble is working as a field hand in California (because obviously he can’t do any job requiring papers or references) and his work crew is asked to volunteer to help fight a wildfire.  One of the laborers he has befriended is undocumented, and he and his pregnant wife are terrified of being caught and deported before the birth of their baby, whom they want born as a US citizen.  The woman goes into labor, and though there is a problem requiring an emergency C-section, they can’t get her to a hospital because of the fires.  So Kimble, ever the humanitarian, is forced to reveal to the camp nurse that he is a doctor and can save mother and child; when the cops come snooping, the nurse, the father and another laborer who was a veterinarian in Mexico make up a story to cover for him.  And all of this is portrayed as positive.  Compare this with the current toxic zeitgeist:  a fugitive from the law helps undocumented migrants to deliver what nativist authoritarians now disgustingly dehumanize as an “anchor baby”, and everyone goes away satisfied.  Look, I fully recognize that there were just as many racists, xenophobes, and badge-lickers in the Sixties as there are now.  But it’s nice to recognize that in extremely popular entertainment of that time, those were typically being portrayed as the villains they are instead of lionized and given positive attention, money, and political power.

 

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In the News (#1611)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 7, 2026| Leave a Comment »

George Orwell told us about thought crime as a cautionary fable…this…seems like an attempt to put it into action.  –  Micah Kubic

Chauvinism (#1421)

The Olympics always provide an excuse for governments to “clean things up” in the host cities before the guests arrive:

LA County…plans to remove…thousands of unhoused people from areas around sports venues ahead of the Olympic games in 2028.  [Bureaucrats] issued a strategy report last week advising local governments on how to [abduct] people from encampments…and [force] them into temporary housing.  However, the same report notes that…there [are not] enough beds and there’s no new funding for such an effort…

Eavesdropping (#1503)

Google still claims this doesn’t happen:

Google has agreed to pay $68 million to settle a class-action lawsuit [over its] voice assistant…illegally record[ing] users and…shar[ing] their private conversations with advertisers…Google [pretends] that its voice assistant w[ill] only register people’s speech when [they] utter…an activation phrase, such as “Hey Google,” [but this is a lie and]…the Google devices [have] recorded private conversations about financial issues, personal decisions and employment…[Victims] will be able to submit claims for up to three Google devices, although…individuals [will] receive…[a paltry] $8 to $40 per person…

Walled Garden (#1570)

The internet’s global scope is the main reason politicians hate it and want to destroy it:

The Online Safety Act grants the U.K.’s online [cens]or, Ofcom, sweeping authority to…censor online content under the guise of protecting children.  The results have been disastrous…and…Ofcom…[has] quietly been pressuring U.S. companies to comply with their orders…lawyer Preston Byrne…represents four U.S. websites targeted by Ofcom: 4chan, Gab…Kiwi Farms, and Personal Autonomy LLC (the provider of the forum Sanctioned Suicide)…In one email response to Ofcom, he [wrote that] their demands on 4chan were “legally void” and would make “excellent bedding” for his “pet hamster”…but…if Ofcom keeps pressuring people…the risk is that…people will…comply because the letters are scary…The Guaranteeing Rights Against Novel International Tyranny & Extortion (GRANITE) Act, which was originally proposed on Byrne’s blog, would allow U.S. companies and individuals to sue foreign governments that attempt to censor Americans.  If the U.S. successfully sued a foreign government in a U.S. court, the foreign country’s assets could be forfeited…Wyoming has become the first to formally introduce the legislation…but Byrne thinks federal legislation would be more effective…

Panopticon (#1587)

Cops are trying to hide their 4th Amendment violations:

[Cop]s are being told to “be as vague as permissible” about why they are using the Flock surveillance system in order to not le[t the public discover illegal snooping] via public records requests…police [incompetent]ly leak[ed] the details of millions of surveillance targets nationwide due to public records redaction errors…[and] rather than looking at this…as a huge operational security failure associated with…a [fascist]…surveillance system, police [fantasize] that [they rather than their victims are in danger]…highlight[ing] how [cops irrationally and pathologically imagine] themselves as being consistently and universally under threat from the people [they want to dominate]…

Panopticon (#1594)

Cops will invariably use warrantless surveillance to harass people:

On Oct. 21 the entire Lenexa, Kansas [cop shop] was hunting Canyen Ashworth…[because a pig decided without evidence that he must be the guy who put up]…posters on city property…[since he wrote] a guest column critical of Lenexa Police…for the Kansas City Star…The [anti-ICE] poster [infuriated the pig herd so bureaucrats claimed they were]…“in violation of Lenexa city ordinances”…[even though] posters about lost pets and community events were generally not removed.  The [cops didn’t know who posted them, but boss hog Dawn] Layman [was pissed off about the column, so]…Ashworth…was [targeted for police violence by]…tracking [hi]s movement around Lenexa using the city’s license plate reader system.  [Pigs were told he]…was…“MYOC”…shorthand for “make your own case.”  [In other words, cops were being ordered to frame] Ashworth…for [whatever] reason [they could dream up]…

I Spy (#1604)

In mass surveillance, fascism beats communism hands down:

ICE has vastly expanded its tech tools over the last year after an [obscene] influx of cash…[from the] Trump [regime.  Father]land Security…awarded Palantir a nearly $30 million contract to build a system backed by artificial [stupidity to target]…individuals for [violence.  Another]…tool…built by Paragon…lets [goons] take control of phones or remotely hack into them…The others were built by Penlink…[to exploit]…data scraped from the web and information from data brokers…ICE…[also] use[s a facial recognition app called]…Mobile Fortify…[when it was pointed out to Father]land Security officials [that these tools flagrantly violate Constitutional rights, they moronically babbled]…“lawful law…lawfully…legal authorities”…

I Spy (#1610)

The rise of prosocial surveillance:

In recent weeks, efforts to track ICE [goon]s’ movements and identities have exploded online, including sites to report ICE raid locations.  Even prolific cybercriminal collectives — better known for their ransomware attacks on luxury carmakers — are joining the fray by releasing the names and personal information of hundreds of ICE [goons] and [DFS spooks] online…“Even when the government pushes to block high-profile apps or webpages, people will continue to share information with their community to keep each other safe,” said Mario Trujilo [of EFF]…Residents in communities targeted by the [regime for pogroms]…have also built tools to…map Flock…cameras and detect [porcine] surveillance devices…through Bluetooth signals…

 

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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In the News (#1606)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 21, 2026| Leave a Comment »

No puedo respirar.  –  Geraldo Lunas Campos

Policing for Profit

There are many ways for cops to enrich themselves at others’ expense:

…[a typical and representative Jacksonville, Florida cop named Nicholas Hicks has been] arrested…for felony grand theft…[because he was paid] thousands of dollars for working a [detail] at a local hospital, but…re[peatedly left] hospital property…[to the tune of] more than 52 hours…[out of 40 shifts, amounting to theft] of…more than $2600 for the “work”…Upon arrest, Hicks immediately resigned…

This actually appeared in the same article as  “To Molest and Rape” below, but they are two separate incidents except for both being products of the same cop shop.  Since the sheriff is hiding the identity of BOTH criminal pigs, I’ll feature his picture here instead until he changes his mind.

Stupor Bowl (#914)

It’s almost sad to see cops still making the occasional pathetic bid for attention based in nonsense even useful idiots stopped believing in over a decade ago.  The only things noteworthy about this one, from Atlanta, are 1) it attempts to hang the “gypsy whore magnet” albatross around the neck of the FIFA World Cup; and 2)  Officer Chicken Licken claims that “[sex trafficking] has now gone into a trillion-dollar business worldwide.”

Creepy Coppers

It’s really too bad they don’t inflict all of their violence on each other:

A Cleveland [Ohio cop] is facing federal child porn charges after being arrested at Miami International Airport…[when] Rafael Rodriguez arrived at the airport on a flight from Bogota, Colombia…[he was racially profiled by] CBP [goons who rooted in] his iPhone and [found the] files…

To Molest and Rape (#1542)

Hey, female cops; how’s that collaboration with the police state working out?

A…[typical and representative] Jacksonville [Florida screw named] Taaron Clayton…was arrested…for [taking out his dick and rubbing it against a female screw’s butt] on Dec. 30…Because he…[had not yet been granted his invulnerability to consequences he was] fired…

Eavesdropping (#1573)

Another privacy-invading gadget from the usual antisocial assholes:

[Sociopathic tech companies are still trying] to make [wear]able [chatbot “]assistants[“] a “thing”…At least a dozen tech brands, most notably Lenovo, [are] push[ing]…small wearable gadgets that [surreptitiously] record and transcribe everything around you, [without the consent of anyone being spied on.  Sociopaths and useful idiots]…have [embraced computerized] wearables like [surveillance] glasses…[though normal, decent people have not].  But tech brands still think they can sell people [who are not moral imbeciles] on an indispensable, specialized [surveillance chatbot] that [gullible nitwits] wear everywhere…the endgame is to record and analyze everything in [public society], and that’s not hyperbole…

The Cop Myth (#1603)

They never stop demonstrating exactly what they are:

A court filing…reveal[ed] the identity of the [typical and representative ICE goon] who [wantonly murdered a neighbor] on New Year’s Eve and [reveals] that…he…h[as a long history of domestic violence] and [overt public] racis[m]…Brian Palacios [murdered] Keith Porter Jr….[and was caught out] in a custody dispute between [his] girlfriend and her ex-husband…Palacios [at first absurdly claimed he could fly so murdering a man shooting into the air was “self-defense”, but later] ICE [slandered the victim as] “an active shooter”…Jamal Tooson, an attorney for Porter Jr.’s family, said…“It is unimaginable that any human being with a conscience on this earth could regard [Palacios] as a hero”…

Torture Chamber (#1605)

A few government doctors are now refusing to provide excuses for murder:

When [ICE] announced the Jan. 3 death of [one of their victims,] Geraldo Lunas Campos[,] at a Texas [concentra]tion camp, the[y pretended he had mysteriously dropped dead of]…no [apparent] cause…[but the] El Paso County…Medical Examiner…[will] classify the death as a homicide…due to [strangulation by screws.  In response]…the Department of [Father]land Security [absurdly claimed] that Lunas Campos [had strangled himself despite witnesses reported that] guards [choked him to death while he was] heard…repeatedly saying, “No puedo respirar”…

 

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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In the News (#1605)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 17, 2026| Leave a Comment »

This all seems like a horror story or a lie.  –  Greidy Mata

Feudalism Redux (#1562)

This unhinged lunacy will spread like rot until struck down by a court:

South Dakota…[politicians are aping a censorship tactic already in use by Texas, Florida, Arkansas, Utah, Indiana, and many others, abuse of consumer protection law]: They’re claiming that informational abortion ads constitute deceptive advertising…The case stems from gas station ads purchased by Mayday.Health, which…does not sell or prescribe abortion pills itself, nor is it affiliated with any abortion providers or clinics…It’s…[only] an information clearinghouse…[wannabe censors] argue…that because these ads don’t clearly “state the prohibitions listed in state law,” they are somehow deceptive.  But nowhere do the ads imply that abortion is legal in South Dakota.  They simply direct people to a website where they can learn more about abortion access…Mayday refused to [comply with politicians’ tantrums by] remov[ing] the ads from South Dakota gas stations…

Creepy Coppers (Nasty Pictures)

When the victim is a child, sometimes cops do face consequences for their actions:

[A North Carolina] police chief [named] Greg Warren [has been] denied bond…[after his] arrest…for…[taking] indecent…photos of [a sleeping teenage girl with]…his iPad…[and] stor[ing them] in a hidden folder on [his] phone [for masturbatory purposes.  It is unclear how the victim is related to Warren]…in a[n unusual move]…Warren has been suspended without pay…

The Cop Myth (#1572)

Cop violence is never limited to adults:

A [typical and representative California cop named…Retuquel Dupree…and [his girlfriend] Jessica Savangsy…have both been charged with…tortur[ing]…Savangsy’s [7-year-old] daughter…[to death and torturing] her little sister…[both the surviving 5-year-old] and…Dupree’s two daughters…were placed in [foster] care…the couple were already facing criminal charges…of grand theft and criminal conspiracy…and…Dupree [was enjoying a paid vacation as a result]…Dupree [has a history of domestic violence]…

They tried to hide this murderer’s cophood not only by using the distancing “former”, but by burying the lede down in paragraph 17.

Above the Law (#1599)

Federal thugs behave just like state & local thugs:

…a s[ocial media] video…appears to show a[n ICE goon forcing a captured woman] into a [“]porta-potty” in Minnesota…[then crowd]ing…into the [disgusting space with her, apparently for some form]…of sexual abuse…

The Cop Myth (#1601)

It’s too bad they don’t inflict all of their violence on each other:

…a…62-year-old [retired New York cop named]…Michael Lynch [went on a rampage in a hospital]…with a [broken] toilet seat…and…[had to be gunned] down…[like a dog after] tasers…did not work…to stop hi[s running amok.  He had]…checked himself in…the day before [because he thought he was having a stroke]…

Torture Chamber (#1601)

This will continue until the evil US immigration policy is reformed:

…Randall Gamboa Esquivel…left Costa Rica in good health and crossed [into] the United States…in December 2024…[he] was [captured] by [ICE goons and locked in a series of cages for]…10 months[, during which time he was violently abused until]…September 2025, [when] the Trump [regime dumped him in] the Costa Rican capital of San José [in a vegetative state]…He…[died] five weeks later…His younger sister, Greidy Mata, said…Gamboa had sounded and looked healthy when they talked via video calls…until 12 June…after which he seemed to vanish…Medical records…show that…he…was…transfer[red]…to [a hospital]…on 23 June…[doped up on] antipsychotic and antidepressant medications…de[spite no]…history of mental illness…By 7 July, Gamboa had been diagnosed with at least 10 conditions…[including] sepsis…and toxic encephalopathy, caused by [internal injuries of the sort that might result from a savage beating]…

Shame, Shame (#1604)

I’m surprised these are the only countries blocking MechaHitler so far:

[MechaHitler] has been blocked by Indonesia and Malaysia, the first countries to do so after the [chatbot] flooded the internet with photos of women and [girls] in suggestive and [violent] manipulated images…both [are] Muslim-majority countries with strict anti-pornography laws…[but] officials in the United Kingdom, European Union[, Canada, Australia,] and India [are also contemplating blocking either MechaHitler alone or Twitter entirely]…

 

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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Links #810

Posted in Current Events, History, Links, Miscellaneous, Music, Obituary, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on January 11, 2026| Leave a Comment »

There’s a bear under my house, and there’s nothing I can do about it!  –  Ken Johnson

I think my old friend Terry would’ve loved this video, provided by Mike Masnick; he also provided the first link above it, and those after that were provided by Jason Kuznicki, Nun Ya, Jesse Walker, The Onion, and Popehat, 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!

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In the News (#1603)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, The Dark Side, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 10, 2026| Leave a Comment »

If stings worked we wouldn’t still be doing them.  –  Alex Andrews

Theatrics (#510)

The “sex trafficking” moral panic is over, but the rescue industry isn’t:

Let’s talk about the American tradition of the human trafficking sting  – part press conference, part moral panic, part budget sinkhole.  Across the country, these branded operations promise to crack down on exploitation and rescue victims…Since agencies don’t release itemized budgets, we built conservative cost models using…Local news reporting, booking data…court records…Known staffing levels and standardized pay/benefits rates…Publicly documented tactics (decoy operations, press briefings, multi-agency involvement)[, etc]…All told, these efforts can run $10,000 to $30,000+ per arrest  – whether or not a trafficking charge ever materializes…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1489)

Customers need to teach these nosy creeps a lesson by shopping elsewhere:

Wegmans in New York City has begun collecting biometric data from anyone who enters its supermarkets…their face, eyes and voice[-prints will be] collected and stored…the [management vomited the word] “safety” a[s a ludicrous justification for fascist collaboration with cops, spooks, and goons]…Legislation aiming to block businesses from using such systems was introduced in the City Council in 2023…But [of course it went nowhere], and other supermarket chains like Fairway already use biometric collection systems…

The Vultures Descend (#1493)

Another judge doing what judges should do more often: nullify tyrannical laws:

Abortion will remain legal in Wyoming after the state Supreme Court struck down laws including the country’s first explicit ban on abortion pills…[because] they violate the state constitution…[which clearly states] that competent adults have the right to make their own health care decisions…the state…[absurdly] argued that a…[medical procedure] is not health care…

Aladdin’s Satellite (#1554)

The psychopaths who market chatbots as “intelligent” need to be sued into bankruptcy:

…Sam Nelson…routinely turned to ChatGPT to…ask for help with…drugs…ChatGPT started coaching Sam on how to take drugs, recover from them and plan further binges.  It gave him specific doses of illegal substances, and…consistent encouragement…Then, last May…the 19-year-old…died from an overdose, just hours after [more bad advice from]…ChatGPT…Nelson’s death…joins a growing list of tragedies connected to ChatGPT and other…chatbots.  In November, seven lawsuits were filed against OpenAI in one day [because] ChatGPT gave awful responses to vulnerable people who ended up…co[mmitting] suicide…[or] other[wise spiraling into] mental health crises…OpenAI [is directly responsible because it falsely advertises] ChatGPT as a trustworthy source for health information…

The Puritan Recrudescence (#1555)

Burble burble BLUE STATE burble drool:

New York Governor Kathy Hochul just signed a law that’s going to get expensive fast…[it] forces websites to slap unscientific warnings on their services [falsely] claiming that features like algorithmic feeds and push notifications cause [“]addiction[“]…compelled speech…[is] blatantly unconstitutional, and courts have already rejected nearly identical schemes.  But Hochul and [other busybody politicians] either don’t care or don’t understand First Amendment basics, so New York taxpayers are about to fund a losing legal battle whose only real purpose is generating headlines for those politicians pretending to care about “protecting the children”…

The Cop Myth (#1597)

What would cops do if you shot someone dead in the street?

A…[Father]land Security [goon murdered] a neighbor [because he] fired gunshots into the air [to celebrate the]…New Year…in…Los Angeles…The [murderer claimed he could fly, therefore shots]…fired [into the air were in reality] at [him, therefore it was self-defense even though he] was in his apartment when he heard…[the] shots…he [also claimed he was a super crack shot who was firing]…to disarm hi[s victim yet killed him instead.  LAPD is hiding the deranged goon’s identity]…

The Last Shall Be First (#1600)

This is why some of us are wary of demands for “regulation”:

Passional Boutique & Sexploratorium…of Philadelphia…is now [being harassed] by [the] Trump…[regime] for selling an undergarment…the [FDA] sent a [threat] letter to Passional stating it was illegally selling breast binders…[which] the FDA [absurdly] classifies…as a medical device.  Businesses that distribute them in the [US] must be registered with the FDA or [else]…Passional was one of only 12 businesses…including companies in Singapore and the Netherlands, that [were thus threatened]…They included Seattle-based Tomboyx…and Manhattan-based For Them…During a Dec. 18 news conference, FDA Commissioner Martin Makary [vomited the moronic phrase]…“transgender ideology” [in reporters’ faces]…

 

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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In the News (#1602)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 7, 2026| Leave a Comment »

We simply lock up too many people in this country.  –  Leslie Soble

Drawing Lines (#516) 

Authoritarians don’t give a damn if your kind of sex work is (temporarily) “legal”:

Within the past month, legal Nevada sex workers have experienced a massive and unprecedented wave of account suspensions on…Twitter…These are not accounts soliciting illegal activity of any kind.  These are licensed workers…Prostitution is legal in Nevada when the practice takes place in a licensed brothel, as outlined in Nevada Revised Statutes 201.354…

When someone starts arguing that freedom of speech applies only to licensed legal whatevers, he can be safely ignored.

Spotlight (#1429)

While I’m always glad to see “sex trafficking” profiteers fall, it’s a particular pleasure to watch it happen to Asstoon:

…Ashton Kutcher has now all but disappeared [from]…Hollywood[, not because]…of…his lucrative investments in [fascist surveillance] companies and [his vendetta against sex workers, but rather for having the wrong friends, a typical moral inversion for]…Hollywood…Now he’s pinning all his hopes on [a] new [and self-aggrandizing TV] series to put him back in…the spotlight[.  That] will be no easy feat…because former fans have taken to scouring the internet for evidence of past…misdeeds [while ignoring the obvious but politically-unpopular ones]…

A Broker in Pillage (#1438)

There are many ways for governments to steal things that don’t belong to them:

…the 9th Circuit…[has] ruled…that an innocent man whose business was [maliciously and unnecessarily] destroyed by…LAPD…[to stage cop theater] is not entitled to compensation for damages under the Takings Clause…In August of 2022…LAPD launched more than 30 rounds of tear gas canisters through the walls, door, roof, and windows…[of Carlos] Pena[‘s print shop in pursuit of a man who was not there, leaving]…the inside ravaged and equipment ruined, [and] saddling him with over $60,000 in damages…Pena…repeatedly reached out to the government to recoup his losses…[but] the city ignored him.  Pena, meanwhile, was hemorrhaging income, resigned to working out of his garage at a much-reduced capacity with a single printer he purchased after the raid…[but] the 9th Circuit…[ruled] that there is [a “fuck you, we’re cops” exception to the Takings Clause]…that doomed Pena’s claim…

The Vultures Descend (#1511)

Under a totalitarian regime, medical personnel cannot be trusted with personal information:

A Kentucky woman has been charged with [“]fetal homicide[“] after police…were contacted by a [snitch working for a] clinic…[whom Melinda] Spencer…[foolishly trusted with the information] that she [had used]…medication…to [have] an abortion…She then buried the [fetal remains] on the back of her property…

The Cop Myth (#1564)

Cop deals with problems exactly as he was trained & encouraged to, and everyone is shocked:

[An] Atlanta [cop named]…Kevin Stroner…[murdered his girlfriend] Mariah Cardona, [then turned the gun on himself.  The bodies were found on December 28th after a friend coming to visit saw the corpses through the window.  His boss hogs decided to insult the victim by bragging about what a big hero Stroner was for killing women]…

It’s rare that coverage of cop violence is so bad only the names survive my edit, but there you are.

Shame, Shame (#1570)

A computer program cannot make a statement; it can only spew algorithmic output. This is like writing, “COVID says it is sorry for killing so many people”:

[An ignoramus “journalist” working for Reuters] said on Friday [that chatbots have minds and can be responsible for producing]…”images depicting minors in minimal clothing” on [Twitter]…Screenshots shared by [Twitter] users…showed [the MechaHitler-branded] media tab filled with images…[produced from] uploaded photos [by] the bot…Reuters [admits that it employs people so stupid they think interviewing a chatbot means something]…

Nor is Reuters the only news outlets infested with technologically-illiterate nitwits:

[When idiotically prompted for comment by supposed adults who apparently believe Teddy Ruxpin really was their special friend, MechaHitler produced algorithmic outputs including phrases like] “lapses in safeguards”…“urgently fixing”…and…“illegal and prohibited”…[the same clowns then asked a different algorithm for comment and received the programmed response] “Legacy Media Lies”…

Torture Chamber (#1596)

A society can be judged by the way it treats its prisoners:

At best you get “mystery meat”.  Or “sour-smelling heaps” of macaroni.  In the worst cases, it’s undercooked chicken, spoiled milk and maggot-infested produce.  In prisons and jails across the US, people are routinely fed unhealthy, tasteless or inedible meals…[leaving them] hungry and malnourished, with devastating long-term health consequences.  The…crisis…is the subject of Eating Behind Bars, a new book…d[emonstrat]ing…how [the US tortures people it has branded “criminals”]…The book…describes roaches and rats in prison kitchens, rotten meat and guard dogs who are fed better meals than [the system’s victims]… It’s a public health crisis, with estimates suggesting each year behind bars reduces life expectancy by two years…and the…[practic]es create an estimated 300,000 tons of food waste annually as [victim]s reject unpalatable [swill]…

 

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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Links #806

Posted in Current Events, Links, Miscellaneous, Music, Obituary, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on December 14, 2025| Leave a Comment »

You can literally sell shit in a can, wrapped in piss, covered in human skin, for a billion dollars if the story’s right, because people will buy it.  –  Chase Herro

Since I really like these kind of blues-rock instrumentals, “Green Onions” was the only correct choice for a Steve Cropper sendoff.  The lyrics above the video were provided by Jesse Walker, Mike Siegel, T. Greg Doucette, Ryan Marino, Tracy Quan, Asawin Suebsaeng, and IncarcerNation, 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!

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In the News (#1594)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Philosophy, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on December 3, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[Computer-generated music] will have a corrosive effect on the whole industry.  –  Jason Palamara

Welcome to the Future (#1351)

The only way to keep data from being abused by government actors is not to collect it in the first place:

A California judge ordered the end of a[n illegal and unconstitutional] law enforcement program that surveilled the electrical smart meter data of thousands of Sacramento residents…without suspicion to find [“]evidence[“] of cannabis growing…turn[ing] all 650,000 SMUD customers into suspects…Granular electrical usage data can reveal intimate details inside the home—including when you go to sleep, when you take a shower, when you are away, and other personal habits and demographics…

On the Simultaneous Having and Eating of Cake (#1506) 

Given that dancers win every one of these suits, the old strip club business model is a dead duck:

A Denver District Court [has] ruled…that strip club entertainers are employees and have protections under the City’s wage and employment laws…Denver Labor, a division of the Auditor’s Office, investigated PT’s Showclub Centerfold, PT’s Showclub, and Diamond Cabaret in 2023 and Rick’s Cabaret in 2024 for minimum wage and other labor law-related violations…

Thought Control (#1518)

To say this was “Trump-inspired” is like saying diarrhea is “cramp-inspired”:

One hundred and eighty-one public libraries in Tennessee are reviewing their children’s collections after Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett…ordered them to remove books with LGBTQ themes or characters.  Hargett [incorrectly claimed] libraries that made such books available to children were violating federal and state law.  Some libraries have closed for days so staff could focus on weeding out [bann]ed volumes…the Tennessee Regional Library System…covers most of the state except larger cities like Nashville and Memphis…Hargett…[bloviated about one of the mad emperor’s diktats, but so-called “]executive orders[“] are not federal law and…do not apply to state or local governments…

Walled Garden (#1563)

Much more of this, please, worldwide:

Australia’s [totalitarian] social media ban for [legal minors] is being challenged in the nation’s highest court, with two teenagers [correctly pointing out that] the law is unconstitutional as it robs them of their right to free communication…The law…was justified by [wannabe censors vomiting the word “]children[” in the faces of rational people]…15-year-olds Noah Jones and Macy Neyland – backed by a rights group – will argue the ban completely disregards the rights of [legal minors]…After news of the case broke, Communications Minister Anika Wells told parliament…”[Fuck them kids]”…

Shame, Shame (#1580)

A program cannot create art, nor can a cartoon character be an artist:

…[hip-hop artist Christopher “Topher” Townsend has created a cartoon character he named] Solomon Ray [to promote] gospel music [generated by a computer program]…spark[ing controversy] in the gospel community and beyond…[with many correctly observing that the sound compositions have] “no spirit”…[and some going so far as to imply that the program is a Satanic scheme to] “draw…people away from real Christian singers…in these last days”…

Panopticon (#1587)

Cops will invariably use warrantless surveillance to harass people:

A police chief in suburban Atlanta has been arrested…[for using] the city’s automated license plate…cameras to stalk and harass multiple people.  Michael Steffman…had been the police chief…[of] Braselton [since April, but was a typical and representative pig there]…since 2005.  He announced his resignation…just before his arrest…became public.  The GBI…[refused to] say…how many people were harassed…

Walled Garden (#1592)

“Fairer industry conditions are possible when the people in charge actually come from the world they are profiting on“:

Hidden is the TikTok version of OnlyFans…[which creator Stella] Barey built…around discoverability…“It creates an ecosystem where we’re all bringing fans that are circulating to everybody,” which helps girls who don’t have large followings…Hidden is all about giving creators more control, and many of its features reflect that mission by creating avenues for “passive income and promotion”…Hidden takes an 18 percent cut (compared to 20 percent on OnlyFans)…[and] has charge-back protections up to $2,500…Every creator also has a liaison who is familiar with their account and will respond within 24 hours to any questions.  All of these features exist in one form or another on other adult sites.  Hidden just happens to bring them together for the first time…

 

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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