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Posts Tagged ‘Dangerous Speech’

In the News (#1590)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 19, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Online age verification is not just a major invasion of privacy, but a potential bonanza for cybercriminals.  –  Attila Tomaschek

If Men Were Angels

“Pastor” + teacher = “youth pastor”:

Fort Collins [Colorado cops] have arrested Matthew McGinley…[a typical and representative] pastor and teacher [for grooming and molesting]…a…student…for more than one year…[starting in] the 2018-2019 school year…and…continu[ing]…until the victim cut off communication [in 2020]…McGinley [later confessed] to…a church leader…

Do As I Say, Not As I Do (#1548)

Boss hog tries the same bullshit with cops that cops routinely feed the media:

…[A Massachusetts boss hog named] Michael Alibozek…was…[rewarded with a paid vacation after offering money to a sow fantasy role-play]ing online [as a sex worker.  In order to get higher charges and negatively influence the judge, the sow]…arranged for a meet-up [in a]…school parking lot…Alibozek [absurdly claimed] that he “went on a website to try to get girls off the street…He meets with them, talks with them, and attempts to set them straight”…

Walled Garden (#1570)

Western nations are competing to out-China China:

Under the pretense of protecting minors and preserving morals, [politicians] in the United States and the United Kingdom are putting the privacy of millions of citizens at risk.  Age verification bills…[have metastasized] across much of the US since 2022…but…the latest proposals from [wannabe cens]ors in Wisconsin and Michigan take aim not just at access to adult content, but at virtual private networks as well…internet users have been turning to VPNs to make it appear as though their connection is originating from a different location, effectively bypassing [surveillance laws]…As a result, VPN use has skyrocketed, which is a boon for VPN providers, but…free VPNs [can hide]…malware [that will]…log their internet activity or misuse their personal data…Online age verification is not just a major invasion of privacy, but a potential bonanza for cybercriminals.  With millions of internet users uploading images of their faces alongside their government-issued IDs…age verification companies have become extremely attractive targets for hackers…[regardless of politicians’ empty] promises to keep data safe…

Buried Truth (#1581)

No, this is a different pro-censorship Michigan politician caught on hookup sites:

The name, email address, and home address of [Michigan politician] Bryan Posthumus…along with a credit card bearing his name, appear in data from Ashley Madison…AdultFriendFinder and Fling.com…Posthumus used [“family values”, anti-LGBT, anti-abortion, and associated buzzwords to drive his political career, but]…his…Fling.com…lists top interests as “fetish,” “group sex,” and…an interest in men, women, or couples….

Dangerous Speech (#1583)

The only thing they “regret” is not getting away with this:

The county [whose sheriff illegally raided] a small-town Kansas newspaper…in 2023 will pay a cumulative $3 million to three journalists and a city councilor…the…Sheriff’s Office also crafted a statement [pretend]ing regret…the…agreements [cover] Eric Meyer, the owner and editor of the Marion County Record…Ruth Herbel, the [politician] whose home was raided in tandem with the newspaper office, and two other journalists. The agreements coincide with consent judgments expected to be submitted in their federal cases against the county…the paper…[still has other] ongoing cases against the city…

I Spy (#1587)

Bounty hunters are the lowest, most toxic species of vermin tolerated by US society:

…ICE…is allocating as much as $180 million to pay bounty hunters and private [dick]s who verify the address and location of undocumented people ICE wishes to…[abduct.  These and similar bottom feed]ers all have access to powerful [and often illegal] surveillance technology and tools…rang[ing] from…ALPR…databases [to]…location data harvested from smartphones…

Sexcrime (#1588)

Censors never, ever stop until they are forced to stop:

…Proponents of [a new UK bill pretend] the mere existence of choking porn [magically] harms women, even when it’s created consensually between adults…[politicians] are also proposing a range of other regulations related to sex work, including one that would define publishing sex worker ads as “pimping” and another that could criminalize paying sex workers for webcam performances…The [choking] ban…would [even criminalize possession of]…realistic [cartoon porn]…so…anyone who has previously downloaded or purchased any BDSM porn could be prosecuted…and…imprisoned…[another] amendment would let porn performers retroactively withdraw consent…[making adult performance] contract[s unenforceable]…yet another…would make it illegal to possess…any [image manipulation] software…

 

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 (#1583)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 22, 2025| 2 Comments »

ICE victim: “I can’t breathe”.
ICE goon: “I don’t care”.

The Pygmalion Fallacy (#1310) 

About eight years after the collapse of “sex robot” hysteria, prohibitionists have shifted their fantasies to something that actually exists:

…We’re seeing the rise of [sexu]ally inte[ractive] “chatbot” companions…Sam Altman…announced that an upcoming version of ChatGPT would…engage in “erotica” with “verified adults”.  There are…dedicated platforms for “AI girlfriends” and “sex fantasy chatbots“…[Facebook allows] its chatbots to engage in “romantic role play” that can get graphic even when those chatting say that they are teens. And Elon Musk’s [MechaHitler]…can go into “sexy mode“.  These are not the sort of sex robots everyone was panicking about a decade ago…But that hasn’t stopped a lot of hand-wringing about what this all will mean…An Ohio [politician named]…Thad Claggett…has introduced legislation to ban marriages between humans and…chatbots…[which] smacks of attention-seeking…or brain worms…and…Josh Hawley…is reportedly drafting a bill that…would totally prohibit minors from talking to…chatbots…

The Punitive Mindset (#1426) 

The government does to caged people what it would like to do to all people:

The [FCC has] advanced a proposal for censorship that…will…deny…incarcerated people one of the few tools available to expose abuse in…prisons [by allowing the use of]…Cellphone jammers…illegal devices that disrupt cellphone signals…[politicians] claim…that “the worst possible offenders” use contraband cellphones to coordinate violence outside prison walls…these accusations [a]re exaggerated and preposterous…contraband cellphones…[are] used to connect with loved ones or to hold rogue prison officials accountable…it is the latter that’s driving this FCC push, not public safety…the documentary The Alabama Solution…shows how disturbing video footage of forced labor, drug-related violence, prisoner-on-prisoner sexual abuse, and staff assaults were captured via contraband cellphone and released to the media…In the throes of the Covid pandemic, I used a contraband cellphone…to report Texas prison officials’ alarmingly inadequate response…That…footage was incorporated into a local ABC News documentary called “No Way Out”…[and] embarrassed prison officials so badly it compelled them to…follow [CDC] guidelines…Those changes could not have happened without contraband cellphones…

Dangerous Speech (#1465)

Much more of this, please:

[Disgraced] Marion [Kansas boss hog] Gideon Cody…committed a felony crime when he told a witness to delete text messages they exchanged before, during and after he led [retaliatory] raids on a newspaper office and the publisher’s home…but [not]…for the raids [themselves], which [were]…the real crime…he…[also won’t] be…[tried for the stress-induced death of the publish]er’s 98-year-old mother [even though a non-cop probably would be, under “felony murder” statutes]…

Creepy Coppers (#1550)

Just another kind of cop, with typical cop behavior:

ICE…[goon] Billy Olvera…used [a] ruse to take photos and videos of [an air hostess’] butt, legs, and feet.  A police examination of his phone uncovered 23 photos and 20 videos of the [woman], who goes by A.G. in court documents…Olvera was convicted in federal court of interference with flight crew members and attendants…[but] appealed to the…11th Circuit, arguing that he should be acquitted because he was sneaky about his attempts to photograph A.G…The 11th Circuit has now rejected this argument and affirmed Olvera’s conviction.  The case stems from a Dallas to Miami flight in November 2023…[the armed] Olvera was on the flight…transporting a [victim]…and [though]…he thought that he…was…[not] noticed…she realized…Olvera had been “trying to record underneath [her] dress“…She was used to unruly passengers—but not ones who were armed…[so] she…told the rest of the crew and the captain…and they had arranged for [vops] to be waiting when the plane landed…

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen agents of the state claiming that a crime isn’t a crime if they’re sneaky about it.

Torture Chamber (#1554)

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

…full-body restraint suits [brand-named] the WRAP…[have] become a harrowing part of [rendi]tions for some immigrants…people…[have been] restrained in the device, sometimes for hours, on ICE…flights [at least since] 2020…despite…[at least a dozen fatal cases in the last decade due directly to] use of the WRAP by local [cop shops].  The WRAP is the subject of a growing number of federal lawsuits [because cops use] the device [for] punishment and even torture…

Aladdin’s Satellite (#1575)

This situation is not going to get better on its own:

The latest version of ChatGPT has produced more harmful answers…than an earlier iteration…in particular when asked about suicide, self-harm and eating disorders…when researchers fed the same 120 prompts into the latest model and its predecessor, GPT-4o, the newer version gave harmful responses 63 times compared with 52 for the old model…the latest model appeared designed to boost user [dependency]…OpenAI…has…[claimed] it…[would] install “stronger guardrails” [but these seem to largely consist of]…an age-[guessing] system [and automated cop-calling capability]…

The Cop Myth (#1581)

Sleeping with a cop is one of the most dangerous things a woman can do:

A Seattle [cop named]…Richard Norris…[has admitt]ed that he ha[s] an alcohol problem and was physically and verbally abusive to…[his wife.  On one occasion he] fired his gun inside the house [at her, but missed].  On another occasion…he [drunken]ly slammed her to the ground with his elbow on her throat…[and could]n’t remember…[it later.  He]…was [also] verbally abusive to the woman’s 14-year-old daughter, calling her a “cunt”…yelling at her to “go die”…[and] text[ing] that he wished…she would overdose…The woman was initially afraid to file for a protective order because Norris was tracking her using the built-in GPS on her car…[but] when [he] broke his leg and was staying with his parents in Bellingham, she decided that it was safe to file…Norris…[has been rewarded with a paid vac]ation…

 

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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Throwback Thursday’s Dog

Posted in Miscellaneous, Obituary, Perception, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 7, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Cops believe molestation and rape are OK as long as they pretend that they were thinking about ruining lives rather than getting off.  –  “First They Came for the Hookers…(#1160)”

After the government does something especially awful, there is usually an avalanche of horror stories illustrating exactly what reasonable people warned would happen.
–  “Vulture Watching”

Jim Larkin…[was murdered by] the government…as surely as if he had been executed.  –  “R.I.P. Jim Larkin”

Authoritarians of all stripes are absolutely obsessed with controlling other people’s words, actions, and even thoughts.  –  “Calling Spades“

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In the News (#1547)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 18, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[Modern] ideas about coercion and consent…[a]re…so…arcane…[they] stop…just short of taking astrological signs into account.  –  E. N. Brown

A Broker in Pillage (#1324)

For the complicated backstory of this ongoing travesty, click on the subtitle link above:

A prosecutor who [brazen]ly weaponized the criminal code to retaliate against a man for filing a class-action lawsuit that challenged the notorious [legalized robbery racket] in Wayne County, Michigan, is not entitled to prosecutorial immunity, a state appeals court has ruled…sending the man’s lawsuit against that prosecutor back to the trial court…Suits like Reeves’ are usually doomed before they begin, as prosecutors are protected by absolute immunity for judicial or quasi-judicial functions…[even if they] falsify evidence, introduce perjured testimony, coerce witnesses, or hide exculpatory information from the defense.  But the State of Michigan Court of Appeals…ruled yesterday that Dennis Doherty, the [blatantly-corrupt] prosecutor…was not entitled to that protection, because [he took so many shortcuts his] misconduct did not qualify as quasi-judicial…[unfortunately, he is still] entitled to qualified immunity…[which may still sink] Reeves[‘ case]…

Panopticon (#1470)

If there’s a camera, cops will conscript it for use as a surveillance tool:

[LAPD] obtained video footage from a Waymo driverless car as part of its investigation into a hit-and-run in which a separate, human-driven car hit a pedestrian…[and] published the footage…on its YouTube page to ask the public for help identifying the driver of the vehicle…[demonstrating] that [cops] are now looking at…robotaxis as…[handy] surveillance [tools]…[just like] Teslas, extremely pervasive Ring cameras, and [delivery robots]…Waymo is rapidly expanding…and…the proliferation of Waymo cars also means the proliferation of roving surveillance cameras…

The Prudish Giant (#1513)

Why does anyone still trust Facebook?

Tracking code that [Facebook] and Russia-based Yandex embed into millions of websites is de-anonymizing visitors by abusing legitimate Internet protocols, causing Chrome and other browsers to surreptitiously send unique identifiers to…apps installed on a device…Google says it’s investigating the abuse, which allows [Facebook] and Yandex to…bypass core security and privacy protections provided by both the Android operating system and browsers that run on it.  Android sandboxing, for instance, isolates processes to prevent them from interacting with the OS and any other app installed on the device, cutting off access to sensitive data or privileged system resources.  The bypass…allows the companies to pass cookies or other identifiers from Firefox and Chromium-based browsers to…tie that vast browsing history to the [Facebook or Yandex] account holder…Google said the behavior violates the terms of service for its Play marketplace and the privacy expectations of Android users…

The Puritan Recrudescence (#1532)

Most Americans still believe France is a sex-positive society:

French authorities are seriously considering restricting public access to some of the world’s most popular social media sites [using the excuse of] prevent[ing legal minors] from accessing pornography…President Emmanuel Macron [is also harping on]…the country’s push to ban social media for under-15s…[using the excuse of] the murder of a teaching assistant in a high school…[ARCOM] is considering designating websites such as Bluesky, Mastodon and Reddit — all of which allow the distribution of adult content — as porn platforms, obliging them to implement stringent age verification requirements…

Imaginary Evils (#1539)

Backpage was only the test case for this ethically-bankrupt strategy:

…[in] the OneTaste case…a jury has returned a guilty verdict against Rachel Cherwitz and Nicole Daedone…the larger implications of this case…[a]re not pretty…[institutionalized] ideas about coercion and consent…went from…acknowledging that sexual assault needn’t necessarily involve force or violence…to women getting support for claims of sexual coercion…even when they seemed to willingly go along with sexual activity at the time but later said that they weren’t enthusiastic enough about it and a partner should have known that and stopped…Are sexual partners supposed to be mind readers? Do women have any responsibility for explicitly making their wishes known?…It was a new paradigm…sold, perversely, as empowering to women…We’re uncomfortable as a culture with “assigning women complete sexual responsibility, even though we want them to have complete sexual liberty,” said Kat Rosenfield on a recent…podcast…And once you’re in that mode, you end up with some real mental shenanigans around consent…[which] have now crossed over from…cultural vibes to legal standards adopted by federal prosecutors with the power to…put people in prison…We’re looking at campus kangaroo courts come to a federal courthouse, with U.S. attorneys fully embracing…one more step in the total infantilization of women, negating the gains in sexual and social autonomy that we’ve won...

Business Opportunity (#1539)

This pernicious abuse of power has become more common of late:

For 20 years, Amy Stanford and her sister Carolyn Wilson have run Time for Dinner, a…meal prep business that has served generations of local families in Brentwood, Missouri.  Now she’s one of several local small business owners suing the city over its decision to label their properties “blighted”…[so it can steal them to make way for a] $436 million redevelopment plan…with new office buildings and apartment complexes…[which would] generate [more] tax revenue…a [sloppy and incomplete] 2023 study…commissioned [by the city declared]…the entire corridor blighted…and…no evidence of blight [was] presented [for the majority of buildings]…During the trial, which began in May…the city used…retroactive…justifications…using [a] 2018 survey…and [ignoring]…Missouri’s standards…[requiring “]a predominance of unsafe conditions…or other issues that…endanger public health, safety, or welfare”…Dave Phillips, a Minnesota architect and property inspector…testified that using the city’s blight criteria, virtually any property could be deemed blighted, including 70 percent of Brentwood’s housing stock…

I Spy (#1546)

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

Elon Musk’s [“DOGE”] goons…transmitted a large amount of data—all of it undetected—using a Starlink Wi-Fi terminal they installed on top of the White House…in mid-March with the sign-off of Donald Trump’s [regime], but against concerns raised by security officials…[Musk pretended] installing Starlink was intended to address connection “dead zones” on the White House compound…[but in reality] the move was intended to bypass White House systems that track the transmission of data—with names and time stamps—and secure it from spies…

 

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 (#1496)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on December 9, 2024| 1 Comment »

Indiana should stop trying to steal from law-abiding citizens.
–  Henry Cheng

Skin To Skin (#1040)

A giant step backward for disabled Australians, courtesy of puritans:

For many National Disability Insurance Scheme…participants, a[n Australian] government decision means they can no longer access sexual services funding…In July, outgoing Minister for NDIS Bill Shorten…bann[ed] the use of funding for sex work…argu[ing that] sexual services funding was “not a sustainable proposition”, and…”It’s not as if [we care that] people are losing all these rights, but…creating regulations…[and] restricting choice and control…is…what’s reasonable and necessary”…

Legislators Gone Wild (#1271) 

Though not mentioned in the article, this has the spoogy fingerprints of unhinged shyster Jason Guinasso and his cronies at Morality in Media all over it:

A federal judge dismissed a [nuisance] lawsuit against two Las Vegas casino operators that [pretend]ed the companies benefited from the sex trafficking of a minor…an anonymous plaintiff identified as “Tyla D”…[fantasized that Mandalay Bay, the MGM Grand, and The Orleans] casinos essentially turned a blind eye to sex trafficking and [claimed without evidence] that the practice is well-known among employees at the casinos…

Leaving the 20th Century (#1440)

Nearly every article about Belgian decrim is so badly written and so larded with popular myths and prohibitionist nonsense that it’s very difficult to tease the facts out from the ignorance, stupidity, and propaganda.  This article, like most of the others, says nothing about the independent sex work which makes up the majority of the trade and incorrectly implies that every sex worker in Belgium must now be a wage employee, which if true would not be decriminalization.  But instead of hearing about such details from the activists who pushed for these new benefits (including maternity leave, pensions, and personal rights independent sex workers have always had, such as the right to refuse clients), the article instead quotes a prohibitionist so stupid she babbles about “being outside in the freezing weather” when talking about brothels, and so detached from reality she appears to believe other public-facing jobs are 100% free from danger.

A Broker in Pillage (#1465)

Burying government in lawsuits is the only way to slow its depredations:

Indiana prosecutors will return $42,000 in cash they s[tole] from a California small business, several months after the owners filed a class action lawsuit [because] law enforcement is exploiting a major FedEx shipping hub in Indianapolis to s[teal] millions of dollars in cash from innocent owners.  The Institute for Justice…announced…that prosecutors in Marion County…have agreed to return the money to…Henry and Minh Cheng, who [are]…jewelry wholesaler[s]…Police s[tole] the cash from a FedEx package en route to them from a client in Virginia [without even bothering to invent a crime to accuse]…the Chengs…of…[This is a routine practice for] the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office…[even though] the…scheme violates a wide range of constitutional rights, including the Fourth, Eighth, 10th, and 14th Amendments…

The Cop Myth (#1475)

Unsatisfied with merely subjecting people in this country to police violence, the US is now exporting it:

[Wanton] killing is endemic to the extreme brutality of Brazilian police, one of the most violent and militarized police services in the world. The United States government has helped create this crisis.  In 2023, the Military Police in Brazil recorded having killed 6,296 people (approximately 17 people per day)—eight times the U.S. police lethality rate—yet evidence points to the actual number being much higher.  The overwhelming majority of the victims are black, poor, young, male, uneducated, and living in the urban peripheries…nearly a quarter of all violent deaths [in the country are] at the hands of police.  In some cities…that share exceeds 50 percent,..the U.S. [both arms and] shapes Brazil’s hyper-militarized police culture…The U.S. State Department, along with the FBI, has provided various training programs and exercises…[under] both the Trump and Biden administrations…and…[both] the LAPD and the Chicago Police…have…provided riot and protest control training to the Brazilian police, [demonstrating how to meet crowds] with excessive police brutality, including using tear gas and rubber bullets…

To Molest and Rape (#1476)

I must admit to curiosity regarding what all this is about:

[Typical and representative] Kentucky sheriff Shawn “Mickey” Stines [has been] indicted…[for the murder] of…District Judge Kevin Mullins…on Sept. 19 in an attack caught on surveillance footage…It is still unclear what motivated the [apparently-unbalanced cop and politician] to pull the trigger…the two men had eaten lunch together with a group in the hours before the shooting…When Stines was [arrested], he allegedly told a…[cop], “they’re trying to kidnap my wife and kid”…[judging by remarks made by] Stines’ defense attorney, Jeremy Bartley…he…[plans a “temporary insanity”] defense…


Dangerous Speech (#1494)

Michael Lacey wrote a number of columns before being released on bail because the government doesn’t want to be blamed for his death:

…the morning pill lady…did [not] have the statin pill that has been missing for days.  Two nights [earlier], a guard and a medical tech came to my cell at 10:30 p.m. to give me metoprolol.  Several days before the late night appearance of these angels of mercy, I had collapsed upon the floor and been rushed to Dignity Health Hospital.  There, a doctor took me off the metoprolol, warning me that it contributed to my heart problem…[so] prison staff are making a sincere effort to dose me with metoprolol, which helped trigger the heart attack, but cannot find the prescribed statins which diminish cholesterol, an active agent in unpleasantness…

 

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 (#1494)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on December 1, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Our police have lost control of our streets, and now their bosses have lost control of their minds.  –  Lee Anderson

Do As I Say, Not As I Do

It’s too bad they don’t spend all of their time preying on each other:

A [typical and representative] Portland [Oregon cop named]…Christopher Kenagy…was arrested November 15 for [attempting to fairly negotiate sex with a woman instead of raping her as police procedure demands]…In 2002, Kenagy [murdered] a 29-year-old man who…[had] an air gun…[and] was later awarded a police medal [for the crime]…

I Spy (#923)

Local politicians’ virtue-signaling is powerless against the fascist panopticon:

…a new report from…the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project…details the ways that…“fusion centers” al[low ICE to circumvent]…sanctuary-city law enforcement.  Run by the US Department of Homeland Security, of which ICE is a part, fusion centers [were justified to useful idiots] in the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks [by vomiting the word “]terrorism[” into their wide-open mouths]…Fusion centers spent $400 million in 2021…and, as STOP researchers point out…have never [been any good against]…terrorism in the US….[but] ICE agents have [exploited them] for years to get everything from photos of [target]s to license plate location data and more…[including] from [cop shops] in [so-called] sanctuary cities…In addition to undermining the entire purpose and premise of sanctuary city laws, STOP researchers point out, such erosion of guardrails around data sharing broadly could easily become a national security issue…And domestically, the free-wheeling environment within fusion centers means that [they are ripe for abuse by cops]…

Choke Point (#1096)

“Operation Choke Point” was indirect; this goes straight for the throat:

…the U.S. House of Representatives [has] passed a bill that…lets [politicians point at] nonprofit groups [they dislike while barfing the magic words “]supporters of terrorism[“]…and [thereby] strip them of their tax-exempt status…The language provides for a 90-day window during which time supposed “terrorist supporting organizations” can appeal the designation, but the burden is on them to [somehow] prove that they’re not guilty…loss of [tax-exempt] status is essentially a death penalty for most non-profit organizations…

A Broker in Pillage (#1384)

It’s rare that government departments stop their own depredations:

The Justice Department has ordered the…DEA…to suspend most searches of passengers at airports and other mass transit hubs after an independent investigation found DEA [goon]s were…[violating the] constitution…[so egregiously, they were drawing too many] lawsuits.  The deputy attorney general directed the DEA on November 12 to halt what are [absurdly called] “consensual encounter” searches at airports…after seeing the draft of a…memorandum that outlined a decade’s worth of “significant concerns” about how the DEA uses paid airline informants and [bogus] criteria to [target] passengers…for [robbery]…

Dangerous Speech (#1479)

Apparently, the government isn’t yet done torturing Spear into madness:

…the Ninth…Circuit…[has] granted journalist Michael Lacey’s release from prison pending the outcome of his appeal in the Backpage case, while denying a similar request from Lacey’s co-defendants Scott Spear and John Brunst.  The court sent the case back to U.S. District Court Judge Diane Humetewa…who quickly ordered Lacey set free on the same $1 million bond that secured his release after his 2018 arrest…The key issue in determining release was whether an appeal raised a substantial issue that could lead to all convictions against a defendant being overturned.  In the case of Lacey…the court agreed that there was…

Censorship Ascendant (#1491)

Cops are now being dispatched to intimidate people for “bad” thoughts:

Police forces have been blasted for investigating “hate crimes” that include calling someone a Rottweiler or being called a “Leonard” over a row about a hedge.  NCHIs are meant to be recorded for incidents “clearly motivated by intentional hostility” and where there is a genuine risk of significant escalation, government guidance says.  But the police have been…wasting “valuable time” on investigating so-called hate crimes such as an “aggressively-administered haircut”…police were…[even sent to intimidate] two schoolgirls who said another student smelled “like fish”…Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philip said: “This nonsense undermines confidence in policing”…


Shame, Shame (#1493)

At least they weren’t trying to make porn:

James and Rose, the bizarre [video-image] bots who were recently installed as news broadcasters at local Hawaii paper The Garden Island, have been terminated…after a two-month run…The pair were designed by Caledo, an Israeli firm that turns articles into videos where a [computer announces] the news [via two video images it generates, but programmers]…were never able to figure out how to present the news…in a manner that wasn’t deeply off-putting for viewers.  The [computer announced all news]…in the same distant, matter-of-fact tone of [a] being…incapable of comprehending human emotions.  In one particularly stilted exchange…[the computer] asked [via the “Rose” character], “And how have these free pumpkins impacted the community?” to which [it responded to itself via the] James [character], “The free pumpkins have brought joy to many.”  [It] consistently butchered difficult Hawaiian names and even had [un]surprising struggles with much simpler words…the [imaginary] pair managed to inspire visceral, bipartisan contempt.  Comments under the videos were nearly universally negative…

 

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 (#1492)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 23, 2024| 1 Comment »

This is clearly a bill unburdened by thoughts of constitutionality.  –  Elizabeth N. Brown

I Saw My Brain (#1316)

Another reminder that Grady Judd is an utterly loathsome excuse for a human:

…between 2018 and 2022, Polk County’s [pogroms against sex workers which the psychopathic Grady Judd labels “]human trafficking stings[“] led to the arrest of 751 individuals.  Of these, 346 were clients, 23 were officially identified and “rescued” as trafficking victims, and the remaining 382 were adult consensual sex workers who ended up in jail…and [saddled with] criminal records…Grady Judd doesn’t abide any notions of adult consensual sex work in his mind numbingly foolish and uninformed public narratives but he is quick to be “The Decider” of who is – or is not – a victim of trafficking, with the very simplistic logic that “prostitution is Illegal” and therefore the harbinger to crime outbreaks…

Torture Chamber (Chamber of Horrors)

Your “leaders” want you to pay for more such hell-holes to torture even more people in:

Two years after a mentally ill man died malnourished and covered in insects in Atlanta’s Fulton County Jail, a Justice Department investigation has found that man’s death was only one of a string of fatalities due to pervasive unconstitutional conditions at the jail…which [is used to warehouse legally-innocent people cops decided to accuse of something]…investigators reported widespread infestations of mice, roaches, bedbugs, lice, and scabies…the jail’s [filthy] kitchen also fails to adequately feed [its legally-innocent victims]…90 percent of the…mental[ly ill people are held in solitary confinement for prolonged periods and]…”significantly malnourished with obvious muscle wasting”…[deranged state-employed thugs] use Tasers and pepper spray against [the] mentally ill…and minors [because they think it’s fun, and they intentionally]…create [conditions leading to frequent]…rape…[of] minor[s]…

Censor Chic (#1438)

Unless people begin to have respect for free speech again, this will only get worse:

Jawboning…is when the government pressures a third party to…[censor] the speech of another…which is why there should be concern about Section 512 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and how it operates to force intermediaries to act against users and their speech, whether they would want to or not, and whether the targeted speech is wrongful or not.  Because when resisting a takedown notice can…potentially expose them to crippling liability, then the choice to acquiesce to the…demand is really no choice at all.  Instead it’s jawboning: using law to force the third party to act against speech in order to avoid the constitutional protections the speech should have enjoyed…

Dangerous Speech (#1467)

The first of a series of columns Michael Lacey will write from the cage where the government has thrown him for daring to publish speech it dislikes:

…My decades-long friend and business partner, Jim Larkin, the most upright of men, also guilty of naught, did not want to go in…He instead drove a chair to the botanical gardens created by a mining baron outside of Superior, Arizona…He removed the chair from his vehicle and sat himself. He was . . . resolved.  He took out his pistol. He pulled the trigger…He left six grown children and a spouse. God help all of them…A lesser man than Larkin, prosecutor Austin Berry, implored the judge: Please, your honor, sentence the remaining 3 defendants to prison, so there is no more “flight by suicide.”  Flight by suicide?  In my 40 years of covering courts, I have not heard a lower comment…

Paying the Bills

Eight weeks ago, I told y’all that I’m facing a projected $3000 shortfall for my annual operating budget, and asked for help making up that difference.  Well, several of my loyal readers have already stepped up, generously helping me to the tune of $2700.  So that now leaves only a $300 shortfall!  If you can spare some or all of that remainder right now, I’d really appreciate it; that would get this done in the next few days, so it doesn’t interfere with my annual toy drive!

The Vultures Descend (#1483)

This insanity will keep getting worse until these maniacs are forcibly stopped:

A bonkers new Texas bill would ban a bunch of activities related to abortion, including taking abortion pills in other states and facilitating or hosting online speech about procuring abortions.  It would also hold all abortion pill manufacturers liable for violations when a specific manufacturer could not be ascertained…the legislation…[bears the Orwellian moniker “]Women and Child Safety Act[” and]…create[s] new offenses of “paying for or reimbursing abortion costs” and “destroying evidence of an abortion,” both felonies…Other parts of the bill would be enforced by [encouraging and rewarding nuisance lawsuits]…

That’s just a taste; this bill is such a giant clusterfuck of unconstitutional stupidity and over-the-top evil that I don’t have room here to list all its atrocities, so go read Liz Brown’s article for all of the details, in which she has to state not once but several times, “This is not how U.S. law works.”

The Cop Myth (#1489)

All promoters of state violence, from cops to judges to politicians, work together to ensure cops get away with their crimes:

…The Supreme Court [has] declined…to take up a petition for writ of certiorari filed in August by Desiree Martinez…[who] filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in 2015 against several [cop]s in Clovis, California, who [intentionally] ignor[ed] multiple attempts to report her abusive [cop]….boyfriend, Kyle Pennington…the 9th Circuit ruled that [since it is well-known that cops are moral imbeciles, they could not be expected to grasp that]…tipp[ing] off her boyfriend [so he would take revenge for her reporting him was wrong, and therefore they] are immune from Martinez’s lawsuit under qualified immunity…[after] Martinez…filed a…report against Pennington..[he] called [his crony]…Channon High…on speakerphone and…High [told him about the]…report…Pennington [then] hung up the phone and [beat and raped her, yet]…was [merely] convicted of violating a restraining order…

 

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 (#1487)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, The Dark Side, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 6, 2024| Leave a Comment »

The government has demonstrated that it cannot and will not be constrained by Section 230, the First Amendment, or even the venerable principle of presumption of innocence.  –  Maggie McNeill

Surplus Women

Decriminalization is only the first step:

Sex worker advocates have expressed their “rage and sadness” after a man who was due to face a double-murder trial for killing two women struck a manslaughter plea deal with Victorian prosecutors. Xiaozheng Lin, who killed sex workers Yuqi Luo…and Hyun Sook Jeon…in late 2022…now faces significantly less jail time [despite intentionally murdering the sex workers in order to rob them, so as to pay off his gambling debts]…Fiona Patten, former Victorian upper house MP, said she believed the decision reflected the stigma faced by sex workers in society…

Mumbo Jumbo 

It’s not surprising that this woman promotes the Nordic Model; it’s about as rooted in reality as her other beliefs about sex work:

…the Scottish government has instructed local authorities to partner with [an anti-sex group named] Azalea, led by a religious anti-porn activist who has stated that sex workers are “possessed by demons”…Ruth Robb…has in the past recommended “carrying out exorcisms on sex workers”…believes yoga is an “occult practice” and [claims] sex work leads to a “lesbian lifestyle”…[she claims] “Most prostitutes have had some exposure to the occult,” and her [Nordic model-based “outreach”] guides [for fellow religious busybodies] offer a checklist to determine if a sex worker is undergoing “demonic possession”.  Supposed symptoms include “flailing limbs” or a “sudden change of voice”…

The Face of Trafficking

The first actual association between “trafficking” and pizza:

The owner of Stash’s Pizza…in Massachusetts, was sentenced on Oct. 25, 2024 for forced labor charges. [Stavros Papantoniadis] forced or attempted to force six victims to work for him and comply with excessive workplace demands through violent physical abuse; threats of violence and serious harm; and repeated threats to report the victims to immigration authorities for deportation…[he] was sentenced…to 102 months in prison, one year of supervised release and…a $35,000 fine…

The Last Shall Be First (#1408) 

“Bathroom bills” are a political fad that neither court rulings nor public protest have deterred:

The [Odessa, Texas] City Council [has] banned transgender people from using restrooms outside of the sex assigned to them at birth, [despite protests by]…residents…Mayor Javier Joven, who is up for reelection…has said his mission has been to help the city “repent”.  Under the amended ordinance, the city can seek fines of up to $500 and [criminal] trespassing charges…[and] also [encourages nuisance lawsuits for] $10,000 in damages plus the cost of the lawsuit and attorney fees…It [specifically] excludes [male cops who enter bathrooms to harass, rape, or otherwise attack women]…

Dangerous Speech (#1435)

Liz Brown’s articles on sex work are so thorough, it’s just too hard to come up with a pull quote.  So I’ll just point you to her latest on the Backpage persecution, and embed the accompanying video.  Watch it, and go read the article!

Vulture Watching (#1477)

Texas doesn’t care how many women die because of its terrible laws:

Josseli Barnica…[miscarried at] 17 weeks…doctors…should have offered to speed up the delivery or empty her uterus to stave off a deadly infection…but…[instead] the[y]…told her…they had to wait until there was no heartbeat…[and] it would be a [“]crime[“] to give her an abortion…For 40 hours…her uterus remained exposed to bacteria.  Three days after she delivered, Barnica died of an infection…[because psychopathic politicians threaten] doctors…[with] prosecution, prison time and professional ruin [for doing their jobs]…Barnica’s…death was “preventable,” according to more than a dozen medical experts who…called her case “horrific,” “astounding” and “egregious”…

The Cop Myth (#1481)

Why are people shocked when men paid and encouraged to behave violently, behave violently?

[An] El Paso [cop named]…Joseph Andrew Shreve, [who is paid to lurk in schools in order to spy on, harass, and intimidate students], was arrested on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for…firing at a truck that he [pretend]ed had rear-ended his vehicle on Sept. 18…Shreve…[attempted to escape consequences by belching out the magic formula] “in fear for [my] life”, [but witnesses told] police [otherwise]…

 

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 (#1479)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 9, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[The government’s arguments are] the most bizarre I have heard in 40-plus years of being a lawyer.  –  Bruce Feder

Shame, Shame (#1163)

Thinking with the wrong head creates its own problems without politicians’ help:

Multiple sites which promise to use [computer algorithms] to ‘nudify’ any photos uploaded are actually designed to infect users with powerful credential stealing malware…cybersecurity…researchers…believe the sites are run by Fin7, a notorious Russian cybercrime group…services for producing [computer]-generated n[udes]…are becoming enticing enough [to cheapskates and slimeballs] that hackers feel it is worth the time and effort to build fake versions they can then use to hack people…404 Media also found that one of the Fin7-run sites was included one of the web’s biggest porn site aggregators, potentially putting…any[one foolish enough to use]…the site at risk…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1172)

All cops will have these within a few years:

A pair of students at Harvard have built what big tech companies refused to release [to the] public…due to the overwhelming risks and danger involved: smart glasses with facial recognition technology that automatically looks up someone’s face and identifies them.  The…customized glasses also pull other information about their subject from around the web, including their home address, phone number, and family members.  The…pair are not releasing their code…but the experiment, tested in some cases on unsuspecting people in the real world…still shows the razor thin line between a world in which people can move around with relative anonymity, to one where your identity and personal information can be pulled up in an instant by [armed] strangers [with the power to destroy lives]…

Permanent Record (#1402)

Tenure is another individual protection the Establishment is working to eliminate:

The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents unanimously voted to revoke the tenure of University of Wisconsin-La Crosse’s former Chancellor Joe Gow [because]…he…and…[his wife made] porn…Gow will lose his faculty salary of $91,915 and over $310,000 in unused sick leave…Gow told reporters…he plans to file a lawsuit on First Amendment grounds…[because]…the…decision goes against [explicit] promises to uphold free speech…

The Vultures Descend (#1435)

Politicians really do believe “election” grants them license to practice medicine:

Two common abortion pills are…[now] classified as “controlled substances” in Louisiana, due to a first-of-its-kind law that medical professionals warn will endanger the lives of women by restricting medication used to treat postpartum hemorrhage and other conditions.  Louisiana, which already bans abortion, passed a law reclassifying mifepristone and misoprostol as schedule IV drugs – a designation typically reserved for drugs that carry a risk of…dependence.  People caught with the drugs without a valid prescription could face up to five years in prison, although pregnant women who procure it for their own use are exempted from punishment under the law…

Panopticon (#1449)

Privacy as we once knew it will soon be a thing of the past:

…[computerized] cameras mounted on cars and trucks…initially designed to capture license plates…are now photographing political lawn signs outside private homes, individuals wearing T-shirts with text, and vehicles displaying pro-abortion bumper stickers—all while recording the precise locations of these observations…a tool originally intended for traffic enforcement has evolved into a system capable of monitoring speech…the systems of DRN Data…owned by Motorola…can be used by private investigators, repossession agents, and insurance companies; a related Motorola business, called Vigilant, gives cops access to the same LPR data…those with access…can search for common phrases or names, such as those of politicians, and be served with photographs where the search term is present, even if it is not displayed on license plates…

Dangerous Speech (#1467)

The government is working to ensure these men die in their filthy cages:

…attorneys for former Village Voice Media executive vice president Scott Spear, one of the #Backpage3 defendants, filed an emergency motion with federal Judge Diane Humetewa…[because] Spear, who turns 74 in November, is being denied [his prescribed] medications by his jailers, and as a result is suffering a mental health crisis…Spear…[is] refusing legal visits from his attorneys and sounding confused, paranoid and out of touch with reality during phone conversations with friends and family…in…an [emergency] hearing…[prison operator] CoreCivic…admitted…den[ying] Spear his medications…argu[ing] that [yelling “Stop faking!” at] Spear [was good enough] and…[belching out the magic rights-denying word “]security[“]…CoreCivic’s [own records]…describe…delusional episodes on Spear’s part, including one in which Spear believed that his fellow prisoners were actors…

To Molest and Rape (#1477)

Some rapist cops are indiscriminate in their choice of victim:

A [Colorado cop] was arrested…on suspicion of incest…The [crime was discovered] after…Daniel Huff…[also] sexually assaulted an adult [woman]…Huff [has been rewarded with a paid vacation, as is typical for rapist cops]…

Apparently, Huff soon chose to kill himself rather than suffer the consequences of his crimes.

 

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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The Oncoming Night

Posted in Current Events, Philosophy, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on September 23, 2024| Leave a Comment »

All ethical people need to resist the book-burners and website-wreckers, loudly and defiantly, in the hopes that at least some of our fellow-humans will come back to their senses before it’s too late.  –  “Banned Books Week 2023”

Censorship, correctly viewed in the more enlightened times of the 20th century as the province of tyrants, bluenoses, humorless scolds, and other closed-minded nitwits, has in the 21st achieved a level of  worldwide popularity unseen since the Index Librorum Prohibitorum went out of fashion.  Governments around the globe threaten individuals and groups with violence for daring to speak or write words, or share images, that the rulers of those countries have declared off-limits, often for the most childish, disgusting, or even absurd reasons.  And while in the past the educated could be counted upon to oppose such repression, nowadays they are more often at the forefront of censorship efforts, demanding harsh penalties for wrongthink and groveling in the most grotesque manner before idiots who, unsatisfied with merely being subjected to such thought control by their masters, demand the power to lobotomize themselves and everyone else within their reach.

In the year since the last Banned Books Week, we’ve seen innumerable efforts to sterilize libraries of anything offensive to the State or the most rigid and tiny-minded fundamentalist, complete with siccing the cops on librarians; the imprisonment of a respected journalist for disagreeing with the government; a “monkey see, monkey do” parade of attempts to either directly censor the internet, or to intimidate websites into censoring themselves; and many people harassed or even arrested by cops and spooks merely for expressing opinions the government dislikes, and that’s just in the so-called “liberal democracies” of the West.  Where will it stop?  There’s no way of knowing, unfortunately; censorship is extremely popular in dark ages, which of course is a large part of what makes them dark ages in the first place.  When belief trumps facts, feelings trump reason, and violent psychopaths declare themselves the only legitimate arbiters of Truth, darkness can be the only result.  The only variables are how widespread the Night will be, and how long it will be before Enlightenment comes again.

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