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Tweet Wave

Posted in History, Miscellaneous, Tyranny, Words, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on December 19, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Who first used the German word "blitz" ("lightning") to describe sudden, intense bursts of violence? I forget.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-14T19:43:33.619Z

I just can't get beyond the resemblance.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-16T19:29:02.571Z

When cops use profanity at us, think of what they're telling us. Would you ever curse at your boss? No, but he can curse at you because he has power over you. What would happen if you cursed out a cop? But they curse at us routinely. That tells you how they perceive their relationship with us.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-17T08:31:30.244Z

The universe does things on a subatomic level that would get you arrested for bank fraud if you tried the financial equivalent.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-19T04:59:00.841Z

People suffering from advanced dementia often fall back on old "scripts". It's why your senile great-grandmother calls you by your mother's (or even grandmother's) name, and it's why Trump seems to think he's still on a TV show he did two decades ago.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-19T18:14:28.117Z

Magnificent. Words that deserve to be included in future editions of Bartlett's.If you're not following Ken, why are you even on here?

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-20T18:37:49.142Z

Reporters need to ditch the word "taken" when writing about actions of government thugs.The property wasn't "taken" by goons; it was STOLEN.The person wasn't "taken to the ground"; he was TACKLED.The person wasn't "taken into custody" as if on a date; he was ABDUCTED.Stop soft-peddling evil.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-21T18:12:37.117Z

Reading what people say about Twitter makes me realize that the vast majority online expend absolutely no effort on account hygiene. If they treated their bodies like they treat their social media accounts, they'd never bathe, brush their teeth, or change their clothes, and would eat only junk.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-23T18:27:53.081Z

I will never cease to be amused by the notoriety Fate chose to bestow upon a minor Sumerian merchant of the 18th century BCE.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-24T18:42:59.559Z

Crypto-moralists believe anything unpleasant must be “good for you”.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-25T08:41:09.810Z

In the late 19th century, the Ottoman Empire was called "the sick man of Europe". Now the American empire has become the sick man of the entire planet.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-26T19:46:57.721Z

I found my own solution to Thanksgiving guest tensions many years ago: I host. Nobody dares start shit in MY house.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-27T17:53:29.116Z

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-29T03:35:45.932Z

I have lived my life in such a way that I can't picture either of these women accurately enough to compare them in my mind. And I'm very pleased about that.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-29T18:42:27.556Z

I block every single MAGA account and every associated lunatic on Twitter the first time I see it. As a result, I now see far more Trumpery on Bluesky than on Twitter, because people keep screenshotting and calling attention to accounts I blocked long ago.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-03T18:04:51.442Z

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-04T09:14:45.895Z

What's the Greek word for rule by mathematical imbeciles?

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-05T18:10:12.603Z

I'm so exhausted by journalists, who should know the meaning of the words they use, referring to people who are not cautious of change but rather mindlessly destroy every Chesterton's fence they can find, as "conservative".

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-05T20:21:41.880Z

"We are not the party of participation trophies…"I hate to break this to you, but…

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-07T03:39:24.651Z

Maybe this misuse of the word "democracy" is a problem of Millennials and Zoomers, who are too young to remember that about half the communist dictatorships of the late 20th century had the word "Democratic" in their names, eg "Deutsche Demokratische Republik" (German Democratic Republic).

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-07T18:47:29.470Z

Mad emperor babbles like a baby: "A pwus pwus pwus pwus pwus!!" {claps tiny pudgy hands and gurgles}

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-09T20:02:40.319Z

Ahem.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-10T09:23:43.373Z

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-12T19:50:01.065Z

OK, y'all, we all get it: politicians and partisans are all huge hypocrites who theatrically perform anger when the "other team" does the same thing they do when in power.Find another goddamned tweet boilerplate. Holy shit.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-13T18:34:07.084Z

The problem is that the tech industry is intentionally conflating two different things under the fantasy label "AI". Machine learning is a real, useful tool; chatbots are a toy and a technological blind alley. Conflating the two is like pretending color TV is the same technology as a hula-hoop.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-14T18:46:37.811Z

I'm sick of the idiocy of the term "kinetic strike".As opposed to what, a static strike?

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-16T17:48:03.150Z

My home town, ladies & gents.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-18T08:51:51.030Z

 

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Links #805

Posted in Current Events, Links, Miscellaneous, Music, Obituary, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on December 8, 2025| Leave a Comment »

I feel the tallow’s bovine powers eliminating the vaccines from my blood!  –  Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (sort of)

Since I’m not really a reggae fan, I wasn’t familiar with Jimmy Cliff, but I really dig this song.  The links above it were provided by Anarres Ansible, Nun Ya, The Onion, T. Greg Doucette, Jesse Walker, and IncarcerNation (x2), 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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Links #803

Posted in Current Events, Links, Miscellaneous, Obituary, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , on November 23, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Premium users can also converse with Satan.  –  Chrissy Callahan

When I opened YouTube in search of something last week, this was at the top of the page.  Naturally I could not resist.  The links above it were provided by Jesse Walker, Ryan Marino (x2), Mike Masnick, The Onion (x2), 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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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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Tricked Up a Treat

Posted in Links, Miscellaneous, tagged , , , , , , , on October 24, 2025| Leave a Comment »

I’ve always been dedicated to the idea of this as the time of year for spooky fun.  So every year I collect all the spooky, creepy or scary content from the previous year into one place just before Halloween.  If you’ve come to my blog in the past year, or don’t remember previous editions, they are “Trick or Treat”, “More Trick or Treat“, “Tricks and Treats“, “This Trick’s a Treat”, “Tricky Treats“, “A Trickle of Treats”, “Tricking and Treating“, “Tricks for the Treat“, “Tricked Out Treats“, “Tricks and Treats and Such Small Deer“, “Trick Treatment“, and “Treats and Tricks“.  Horror, death or Halloween-themed columns of the past year included Diary #763, “The X-Files“, “The X-Files, Continued“, Diary #781, and “Gere Curam Mei Finis“, and there are creepy or spooky-fun videos in Links #747, #750, #787, and #798.  A collection of seasonal links and creepy tweets appears below.

Doctor offers to help lonely guy get a girlfriend.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2024-11-02T19:05:03.939Z

It's especially designed to hide pervasive rot under a beautiful, polished surface that will last without change for decades.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-04-08T07:34:22.931Z

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-08-17T17:22:30.905Z

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-08-20T03:52:04.139Z

So long, Mommy.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-10-13T02:17:15.023Z

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Virgin Throwback Thursday

Posted in History, Miscellaneous, Philosophy, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on October 23, 2025| Leave a Comment »

It never ceases to amaze me that, after a century and a half of pseudoscience, self-contradiction, crypto-moralism, scams and outright lies, most people STILL believe nutritionism is a real science rather than something akin to astrology, phrenology, or bite mark analysis.  –  “Autumn Tweets”

One needn’t worry about why a tiger is hungry in order to know it’s dangerous.  –  “Tweetledum”

Remember 2016, when Americans became so obsessed with creepy clowns that they actually put one in the White House?
–  “Spooky Tweets“

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Links #798

Posted in Current Events, History, Links, Miscellaneous, Obituary, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 19, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[Journalists] act as a barrier against those who, through the ancient art of lying, seek to…rule by dividing.  –  Pope Leo XIV

Here’s a seasonally-themed a cappella medley called to my attention by Phoenix Calida; the links above it were provided by Aaron Ross Powell, Radley Balko, Ryan Cooper, IncarcerNation, Ryan Marino (x2), and Nun Ya, 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 (#1576)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 27, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Don’t we have something more interesting and important to think about?  –  Jan Kirsch

See No Evil (#1092)

What happens when puritans are not ignored as lunatics:

No one had any problem with the eggplant, then the peach showed up.  To those [with sick minds, these fruit represent]…phallic and derrière references…the…sculpture[s] in…Ellicott City…[Maryland are the work of]…Jan Kirsch, an artist and landscape designer who[se oeuvre consists mostly of large]…sculptures…of…fruit[s] and vegetable[s such as]…Chile Pepper #2…a six-foot pear…and a couple of intertwined carrots…Kirsch [is not mentally ill and therefore] knew nothing about peach and eggplant emojis being used suggestively [by adolescents] to represent body parts…[but pearl-clutchers filed] anonymous complaints about the sculptures…with the county’s planning and zoning department in June…And Julie Danna, the commission’s chair, [is herself a censorious prude, so the result was a foregone conclusion regardless of protests from sane people]…

No Escape

Your “leaders” refer to this as “correction”:

A [typical and representative] Boston [screw named]…William Cooper…rape[d]…a person [locked] in [one of the city’s filthy cages]…on July 7…Cooper taped trash bags to the office window before [forc]ing [his victim in there]…The [victim said nothing until she was released from the cage]…and…“no longer fearing retribution” [from the rapist or his fellow gang members]…

To Molest and Rape (#1407)

Cops allowed one of their gang to rape a baby for almost two years after he was reported:

A [typical and representative San Antonio cop named]…Albert John Sanchez Jr. was [finally] arrested and charged with…[repeatedly raping a baby under 2 years old.  The cops have known about the rapes since January 5th, 2024, when another of his victims], a 13-year-old[, reported witnessing]…the [rapes, but they merely]…charged [him] with…child pornography [and let him otherwise run free]…

Shame, Shame (#1410)

Why would anybody waste good money to talk to a computer program pretending to be a dead man?

…nearly seven years after [Stan Lee’s] death at the age of 95, [his celebrity is being exploited by people who programmed] a hologram that will use [a linked chatbot] to have [fake] conversations with fans…at the Stan Lee Experience section of the [Los Angeles Comic] Con…which costs…$20 to enter…tak[ing] photos with the hologram or hav[ing] a three-minute…[interac]tion with [the chatbot while the hologram mimes talking will cost extra]…

Eavesdropping (#1473)

If you think these ads won’t be “personalized” by spying, I have a “smart” bridge to sell you:

A software update rolling out to Samsung’s Family Hub refrigerators in the US is putting ads on the [screen]s…despite Samsung insisting…in April that it had “no plans” to do so…the writing’s been on the wall ever since Samsung embraced a “screens everywhere” initiative for its home appliances.  After all, it was Samsung that started bunging ads into its old smart TVs ten years ago…

Torture Chamber (#1501)

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

…more than a dozen [victims of a prison “nurse” named Joseph Eastridge have filed]…more than 20 federal lawsuits…since 2002 [after he] withheld or cut off access to medication or equipment, including bandages and braces, even if the prisoner had had access to the items for decades; told prisoners that their conditions, ranging from debilitating back pain to diarrhea, were fake or “normal”; refused to write passes for people with injuries or disabilities to keep them in bottom bunks; and [repeat]edly retaliated against those who filed grievances by removing access to meds…

Aladdin’s Satellite (#1571)

What’s worse than chatbot “therapy”? Chatbot marriage “counseling”:

As [chat]bots…become inextricably tangled with [gullible] people’s private and public lives, it’s causing [100%]…predictable new crises…in romantic relationships…an uncanny dynamic is unfolding across the world: one person in a couple becomes fixated on ChatGPT or another bot — for some combination of [pseudo-]therapy, [bad] relationship advice, or [pseudo-]wisdom — and ends up tearing the partnership down as the [program] makes more and more radical interpersonal suggestions…Spouses relayed bizarre stories about finding themselves flooded with pages upon pages of ChatGPT-generated psychobabble, or watching their partners become distant and cold — and in some cases, frighteningly angry — as they retreated into an [algorithmically-warped] narrative of their relationship.  Several even reported that their spouses suddenly accused them of abusive behavior following long, pseudo-therapeutic interactions with ChatGPT…

 

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 (#1573)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 17, 2025| Leave a Comment »

We have a child problem and it’s probably time to talk about it.  –  unnamed Facebook employee, April 2017

See No Evil (#1505)

The Japanese are the only people left on Earth who can tell fantasy from reality:

One of the hundreds of laws adopted by Texas recently [invent]s a…felony…[for merely looking at any nude picture of a fictional character] that appears to [any Texas politician to] be…younger than 18 years of age…[within the fictional universe inhabited by the characters, despite all Japanese animation characters looking like that.  Politicians justified the prohibitionist onset by barfing out the marketing term “]artificial intelligence[“, yet clearly states that the law applies to]…“a cartoon or animation[“.  Comics book store owners]…have…already pulled some volumes of…popular Japanese comic[s]…due to concerns [of being targeted by violent censors]…

Shame, Shame (#1535)

Zuckerberg is completely out of his mind:

…[Facebook has repeatedly claimed that] child safety [is] a top priority across its platforms.  But…researcher[s working for the company]…said…[it routinely] suppressed research that might have illuminated potential safety risks to children and teens on the company’s virtual reality devices and apps…[on orders from] its legal team…[which] seek[s] to “establish plausible deniability” about negative effects of the company’s products…[even though] children younger than 13 [routinely] bypass…age restrictions to use the company’s virtual reality services…In Zuckerberg’s [deranged] vision, people will maneuver in and out of virtual and physical spaces for work, entertainment and socializing…But earnings reports show that Reality Labs, the company’s virtual reality division, has lost more than $60 billion over the past five years…In 2021, a…child sex offender in Michigan…was sentenced to 35 years in prison [for trying to lure children via the so-called “Metaverse”, and] in 2022, a…man [molested] a 13-year-old girl [after abducting her]…in Utah after they, too, met and interacted…the [same way]…

Eavesdropping (#1537)

As if rude assholes talking loudly on cell phones wasn’t bad enough:

[A chatbot in a] pendant is now…[available] for $129…[“Friend”] connects…through [an] iPhone…to a chatbot in [someone else’s computer] that’s powered by Google’s Gemini…You can tap on the disc to ask [the chatbot] questions…and it responds…by sending…text messages through the companion app…It also listens to whatever you’re doing…and offers a running commentary on the interactions [with non-consenting strangers] you have…[via] microphones that are always activated…wearing the [“]Friend[“] will likely earn you the ire of everyone around you…[especially because it] is the creation of Avi Schiffmann…a creepy…man in his early twenties…[who] can be brash, snarky, and vocally unconcerned about critical feedback, and…that attitude has carried over to the device he has infused with his essence…[which] comes off as opinionated, judgy, and downright condescending…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1553)

“Criminality” is a status defined entirely by the State:

…ICE…recently spent nearly four million dollars on facial recognition technology…to [find] people it [pretend]s have assaulted [its goons]…Clearview has…repeatedly contracted with ICE…but those purchases did not explicitly say the technology would be used to identify people the agency [wished to target with spurious claims of “]assaulting officers[“]…

Creepy Coppers (#1554)

One of the people the government empowers to police your sexuality:

A[n Alabama screw] is under arrest for sending [dick pics] and [porn] videos to [underage girls] through Snapchat…Christopher Thomason…sent…more than 100 [dick pics] of him [wearing his magical clown costume] to at least three underage [girls, one]…of [whom was]…12…He [also] tried to meet up with a girl at a high school football game…his boss h[og used the opportunity to strut around bloviating self-aggrandizing copaganda]…

Walled Garden

This “monkey see, monkey do” parade is now parading around the world:

Aussies [who don’t use VPNs] will soon be required to [ask Nanny permission to access any part of the internet any politician chooses to point at while barfing “]pornography[“, “]violence[“]…[“]inappropriate[“, or whatever other magic words they choose to add later]…Companies [can be targeted by politicians for looting using] the new laws [as an excuse]…Similar rules will be imposed on apps…includ[ing]…chatbots…[the] government…last year [declared that it didn’t give a shit]…about breaches of privacy…

Walled Garden (#1565)

The open internet is becoming a thing of the past:

After blocking its service in Mississippi over its new [beg-for-permission-to-use-the-internet] law, [Bluesky] is taking a different approach to comply with [surveillance] laws in South Dakota and Wyoming…users [without VPNs] in South Dakota and Wyoming can [submit to surveillance]…through…Kids Web Services’ (KWS)…the same [data-selling company it uses] to comply with the U.K.’s [misnamed] Online Safety Act…[which in actuality puts] users at increased risk of identity theft…

 

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 (#1569)

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

There is no historical context for this.  –  Scott Robinson

Counterfeit Comfort (#1254) 

When a headline asks a question, the answer is nearly always “no”:

The Queensland government will…table legislation creating Australia’s first public [“]child[“] sex offender register.  The Queensland legislation, [like so much bad legislation], was named [for a dead kid]…The government [lied]…that safeguards will be put in place to prevent…vigilantism…a lot of evidence about…[such] schemes…shows all forms of registries are highly unlikely to fulfil the outcomes [politicians pretend]…registration scheme[s] make…no difference to rates of sexual offending…[because] most sex offences are committed by those who have not previously been convicted of a sex offence…Most sex offenders are known to their victims…Perpetrators are unlikely to ever fit back into public life if they have been the targets of harassment, victimisation, exclusion and eviction…shaming specific people can extend to their family members as well…and…ineffective solutions to serious problems distracts poli[tician]s from searching for more effective ways to reduce victimisation…

Choke Point (#1286)

PayPal is becoming a major threat to civil liberties:

…PayPal has frozen all of [a game programmer’s] funds…to…the…[tune] of…£80,000 GBP [using the excuse that]…the programmer…[is] involve[d]…in the development of adult games [even though]…the game…does not contain any elements that could potentially violate UK laws…[and] the actual sales of the game are not being processed through PayPal, which means none of the programmer’s assets come directly from customers buying the adult content…

People, please do not keep any appreciable amount of money in PayPal!  I transfer any funds on the site to my bank account every morning, even if it’s under $10, and I advise everyone else to do the same.

See No Evil (#1386)

The Japanese are the only people left on Earth who can tell fantasy from reality:

A young [English]man travelling to a comic book convention in the United States was stopped by [Irish spooks] at Dublin Airport and [subjected to a warrantless search of his phone which found Japanese cartoons]…Finley Bowd…was arrested…[and] charged with [having copies of cartoons featuring wholly fictional characters which resemble children to Western eyes despite all Japanese animation characters looking like that.  The spooks also stole]…his phone…[and vomited the magic formula “]category-three child pornography[” in his face]…

Panopticon (#1449)

Much more of this, please:

The City of Evanston [Illinois] has shut down its network of automated license plate readers…and will end its contract with vendor Flock Safety early after a state audit found the company was illegally sharing Illinois data with federal agencies…all 19 cameras operated by the city are “deactivated,” and…the…notice to terminate its contract [will be] effective Sept. 26.  The decision [wa]s attributed to…a system audit…which…[was] ordered…in late June after…404 Media reported that out-of-state police had searched cameras in Illinois cities for use in…[persecution of] migra[nts, including those in]…Evanston…

Unchristian Nation (#1502)

Government thugs continue their crusade against Christian charity:

The Department of [Father]land Security is now barring states and volunteer groups that receive government funds from helping undocumented immigrants…[and demands such] groups…co[llabo]rate with [goons to help them inflict violence on people]…FEMA employees and emergency management experts said the new requirements…would make it harder for nonprofits to help the most vulnerable Americans in the aftermath of a disaster…the new requirements are [un]constitutional and…violate some local and state laws that prevent asking about a person’s immigration status…The bulk of disaster-volunteer groups…are…faith-based organizations…so…[the order is a violation of their] First Amendment rights…

I Spy (#1547)

Elon Musk’s “DOGE” didn’t “fail”; it accomplished exactly what he intended:

[Elon Musk’s “DOGE” goons] uploaded a copy of a crucial Social Security database in June to a vulnerable cloud server, putting the personal information of hundreds of millions of Americans at risk of being leaked or hacked…The database contains records of all Social Security numbers issued by the federal government…includ[ing] individuals’ full names, addresses and birth dates, among other details that could be used to steal their identities…Charles Borges, [the Social Security official who reported the security breach]…said DOGE [goons illegally] copied the data to an internal agency server that only DOGE could access, forgoing the…“independent security monitoring” [leg]ally required under agency policy…his complaint cites an official…assessment that…warned of “catastrophic impact” to Social Security beneficiaries and programs if the database were to be compromised…and the government may be responsible for reissuing every American a new Social Security number at great cost…the…[apparent motive for the crime] was to [enable mad emperor Trump’s desire for an illegal fusion of all] government [data into a single, searchable database to make every American easier to target with government violence]…


The Cop Myth (#1560)

Good riddance to bad rubbish:

A…Border Patrol [goon] who was recently charged with assaulting a Long Beach [California cop] and resisting arrest has died…Isaiah Anthony Hodgson…[also drunkenly barged] in[to] a women’s restroom at a restaurant…and th[reatened a woman there with a gun]…

Nothing was said about the cause of death, but given that this dangerous pile of shit was only 29, it seems likely it was suicide.

 

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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