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Posts Tagged ‘domestic violence’

In the News (#1503)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 11, 2025| Leave a Comment »

You have zero rights.  –  Andrea Amico

Winding Down (#1221)

Politicians are terrified of losing ways to destroy peaceful citizens’ lives:

Last November…Nebraska voters overwhelmingly approved a pair of medical marijuana initiatives…a [cour]t ruling [has now] rejected [a legal] challenge [from a prohibitionist politician], allowing authorized patients to possess up to five ounces of marijuana…[and] clear[ing] the way for state licensing of medical marijuana dispensaries…Initiative 437…passed by a whopping 42-point margin…[but typical and representative politician] John Kuehn…tried to block the initiatives by [similar legalistic chicanery to that used in South Dakota]…

The Puritan Recrudescence (#1457)

Pornhub has repeatedly taken the principled stand of refusing to facilitate state spying:

Almost two years ago, Louisiana passed a law that started a [“monkey see, monkey do” parade]…across the entire U.S. South, and has changed the way people there can access adult content.  As of today, Florida, Tennessee, and South Carolina join the list of 17 states that can’t access some of the most popular porn sites on the internet [without a VPN]…To remain compliant with the law while protecting users’ privacy…Pornhub is currently blocked in Virginia, Montana, North Carolina, Arkansas, Utah, Mississippi, Texas, Nebraska, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Indiana, Alabama, Oklahoma, Florida, Tennessee, [and] South Carolina…Georgia’s age verification bill…is set to go into effect in July…visitors [in the affected states typically] go to sites with worse moderation practices and no requirements on identity verification for uploaders…[but] if someone wanted to visit Pornhub [specifically], they could easily get around any age verification barriers with a VPN, which we consistently see searches for spike when these laws go into effect…

A Broker in Pillage (#1467)

This will continue until there are federal criminal charges for “officials”, both political and corporate, who conspire to rob people this way:

A Nebraska man whose house title was s[tolen by the county] over a modest property tax debt has finally gotten it back, ending a yearslong legal battle…In 2014, Kevin Fair was unable to pay his $588 property tax bill after quitting his job to care for his dying wife, Terry…the Scotts Bluff County government quietly sold that debt to a private investor, Continental Resources, which continued to satisfy the Fairs’ property taxes—until 2018, when the company sent the couple a bill for $5,268…[payable] within 90 days, or lose their house…[and] all of their equity…That was business as usual in Nebraska…one of many states engaging in legalized home equity theft…The U.S. Supreme Court considered the issue in 2023…and…With that ruling in mind, Nebraska’s top court reconsidered its previous decision and ruled that Fair would not have to sacrifice..his title…Despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision…some states are still trying to find creative ways to get around…the law…[with] Illinois and DC a[s] the most blatant continuing offenders…

Eavesdropping (#1473)

Apple “unintentionally” pisses on its customers’ legs and tells them it’s raining:

Apple has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a lawsuit [over the fact] that its voice assistant Siri routinely recorded private conversations that were then sold to third parties for targeted ads.  In the proposed class-action settlement…Apple…[gets to pretend the recording was] “unintentional”…the settlement…lets Apple off the hook pretty cheaply.  If…Apple users had won, Apple could’ve been fined more than $1.5 billion under the Wiretap Act alone…the [eavesdropping was]…initially exposed by The Guardian in 2019…Google faces a similar lawsuit [which]…likely won’t be settled until this fall…

The Cop Myth (#1486)

Your “leaders” call this “correction”, but you don’t have to:

An Oregon…[screw named Nicholas T. Alexander murder]ed his 16-year-old daughter…Larissa [and then shot himself because he was about to be criminally charged with something his boss hogs are now covering up]…

Cops and Robbers (#1499)

The legacy of To Catch a Predator just keeps on hurting people:

11 teens [in Illinois were] arrested for beating two men they had lured using a gay dating app…in two different incidents on the evening of July 8, 2024…and [also] vandaliz[ing] their cars.  Both victims were able to escape and report the attacks to police.  The attacks are…part of a[n ugly internet fa]d where teens use gay dating apps to target adult gay men they [pretend] are attempting to hook up with underage males…

I Spy (#1502)

Is having a shiny new status symbol really worth being spied on like this?

Video footage and other data collected by Tesla helped [cops] quickly piece together how a Cybertruck came to explode outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on New Year’s Day…the investigation …highlights how car companies vacuum up reams of data that can…be…[handed] to third parties without drivers’ knowledge [or consent] …“These are panopticons on wheels,” said Albert Fox Cahn…[of] the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project…abusive spouses track…partners’ locations…insurers raise…rates based on [secretly-recorded] driving behavior data…[and cop shops seeking surveillance] video from Tesla cars…have…obtained warrants to [steal] vehicles to secure such footage…

 

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 (#1489)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 13, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Just because the tech exists doesn’t mean people/employers have to abuse it.

Pyrrhic Victory (#1065) 

Facial recognition systems have quietly become ubiquitous:

Wegmans Food Markets has launched a facial recognition pilot program at one of its New York City locations, prompting some shoppers to express concerns about privacy and pricing…a Wegmans spokesperson [claimed] the pilot will run for 60 days and…will involve employees who have agreed to participate…the spokesperson [also belched out buzzwords like]…“commitment”…”safe”…”exploring”…and…”security”…the move could usher in dynamic pricing….already…in use by Walmart and Kroger…

Creepy Coppers

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

A [typical and representative Oklahoma cop named]…Ryan Matthew Matthias…[was arrested] for having several files of obscene images of children online…they [tossed his house and found more]…on…several digital devices…

Checklist (#1380)

Airlines:  do you really want to keep accepting liability for employees harassing passengers due to the government propaganda you force-feed them?

A Virginia Beach man was [harassed with “]human trafficking[” propaganda] by Southwest Airlines and [interrogated by] Norfolk International Airport police…John Kerrigan was flying with his [teenage] daughter…and her…friend…back from Las Vegas….[every time] Kerrigan would get up to go to the restroom, the flight attendant was [repeatedly] asking the girls…peculiar questions.  “She keeps asking if we’re all right and if we know you,” Kerrigan[‘s] daughter…told him…Southwest called airport police during the flight [to continue the harassment of not just]…Kerrigan…but the [other] passengers w[ho were detained in their seats while]…three [little pigs] got on and…[humiliated] Kerrigan…[with their sexual fantasies in front of] all of the other passengers…[after interrogating him] for about 20 minutes…[they final]ly let him go…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1479)

All cops will have these within a few years:

A new app developed by a trio of [sociopath]s in Indiana is…using facial recognition technology to provide information about individuals just by looking at them.  The app…utilizes ChatGPT and Meta Glass technology to access public information archives.  “So, we all have a digital footprint, right? How good would it be if eventually, like there aren’t secrets. Knowing who I’m talking to, knowing who I’m about to meet,” said Kris Peterson, [apparently unaware of what a moral imbecile he is revealing himself to be]…Peterson demonstrated how the app could change a stranger’s phone passcode and even access phone contacts to make calls…

The Cop Myth (#1480)

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

A [sociopathic thug paid by the state of Kansas to torture helpless people locked in cages like animals has been] arrested…for…domestic violence…[Sheriff Jeff Easter of] Sedgwick County [delayed action for weeks, is hiding the thugs’s name and picture, and rewarded him with a paid vacation even though he tried to] strangle [his girlfriend on October 7th, then since he was not arrested, beat]…her…on Oct. 28…

The Vultures Descend (#1486)

A few states are managing to beat off the vultures:

…reproductive freedom initiatives…prevailed in seven of the ten states where they were on the ballot.  Measures meant to protect abortion access were approved by voters in Arizona, Colorado, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, and New York.  And most of these weren’t close calls at all…Until [last week], the pro-choice position prevailed in every state where abortion-related measures were on the ballot, including…Kansas, Kentucky, and Ohio.  That…pattern is broken somewhat by results in Florida, Nebraska, and South Dakota…In Florida, 57 percent of voters supported…an Amendment to Limit Government Interference with Abortion…but it falls short of the 60 percent approval threshold required for constitutional amendments in Florida.  In Nebraska, [only] 48.7 percent of voters approved the state’s Right to Abortion measure…But a competing measure—Initiative 434—passed 55.3 percent…and…allows for first trimester abortions but prohibits second and third trimester abortion unless “necessitated by a medical emergency or when the pregnancy results from sexual assault or incest.”  Only in South Dakota…did a reproductive freedom initiative truly flop…

The Cop Myth (#1487)

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

A…Cleveland [cop who wasn’t wearing his magical Clown Costume of Legal Immunity tried to murder his wife]…outside of [an] elementary school [on Halloween]…Alexander Sinclair was [fighting with his victim] off-site and carried…the [violence into the] parking lot…[after ramming] the [victim’s] vehicle [with his]…

 

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 (#1484)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 26, 2024| Leave a Comment »

To keep it simple for the State of Florida: it’s the First Amendment, stupid.  –  Judge Mark E. Walker

Droit du Seigneur

Whenever a pimp cop is caught, his bosses use the occasion as an excuse to belch out deeply-stupid rhetoric:

A…cop…[named] George Trimiliozzi…[was part of] a group that [apparently ran several massage parlors on Long Island.  Officials used high-sounding hogwash and ridiculously convoluted Copese to make the business sound like an international crime cartel, when in actuality the problem was that they extorted so much money from migrant women that some of them started robbing customers, which is how]…Trimigliozzi…got [caught]…

The Vultures Descend (#1332)

Polls have shown 75% of Floridians oppose its politicians’ attempts to ban abortion:

Floridians…will [soon] vote on a constitutional “Amendment to Limit Government Interference with Abortion.”  So authorities decided to interfere with free speech in an attempt to thwart voters…The state threatened TV stations with criminal penalties for running an ad supporting the abortion initiative…[but] U.S. District Judge Mark E. Walker…[has] enjoined Florida from attempting to censor the ad…Florida has been pulling out all the stops to try and stop Amendment 4 from passing…[including] using taxpayer money to run ads in opposition to the amendment while trying to prohibit people from seeing an ad in support of it…

The Last Shall Be First (#1410) 

If this is a “crime”, why is Paxton suing rather than prosecuting?

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton [has] sued a Dallas doctor…accusing her of [refus]ing [to forcibly de]transition…nearly two dozen minors [as demanded by] state law.  Paxton alleged that Dr. May Chi Lau, who specializes in adolescent medicine, [continued to] provide…hormone replacement therapy to [her patients] between October 2023 and August…“[Being elected gives me a license to practice medicine in] Texas [despite my]…dangerous [lack of] medical [educa]tion…” Paxton said…“Doctors who continue to [disagree with me] will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law”…Paxton…alleged that Lau used “false diagnoses and billing codes” in order to mask “unlawful prescriptions”…If [Paxton’s witch hunt is successful], Lau could have her medical license revoked and face a financial penalty of hundreds of thousands of dollars.  Paxton’s suit is the first in the nation by an attorney general against an individual doctor[, but it is far from his first “culture war” nuisance lawsuit]…

Out of Control (ROTW #13)

What is wrong with doctors who do this?

[Michigan] pathologist Charles Yee was accused numerous times of exposing his genitals to women in public places…[yet] he never lost his medical license and he was never disciplined by the Michigan Board of Medicine…until…he re[cently]…pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of indecent exposure…He also is currently facing indecent exposure and lewd conduct charges in Riverside, California, and spent six weeks [last] summer in a [“]sex-addiction[“] program in Idaho…he al[so] followed minor girls around [town] for hours at a time and secretly took photos of them with his cellphone…Yee faces up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine when he is sentenced in November…

Creepy Coppers (ROTW #14)

Had he not been caught, this would’ve soon escalated:

The city manager of Waurika, Oklahoma, [who is also a cop,] has been arrested…[for making child porn] and l[urk]ing around [other people’s houses to leer at their kids.  Charles Kyote Dunn was first reported]…in January…a search…[of his] electronic devices…discovered [numerous child porn images]…

Paying the Bills

Four 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 $1600.  So now I’m only facing a $1400 shortfall; if you aren’t yet a subscriber, won’t you please consider becoming one?  A $1/day subscription would take $90 off of that total, and other levels would help in proportion.  Or if you’re already a subscriber but can spare some extra right now, I’d really appreciate it; it would be great if I can catch up by my birthday!

The Cop Myth (#1478)

“Cop murders wife or girlfriend and claims it was suicide” is a recurring theme in this tag:

A [Florida cop named Eloilda Shea was murdered by] her estranged husband[, typical and representative cop Anthony Shea, who tried]…to [make it] look like a suicide attempt…

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 (#1483)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 23, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Murder is illegal in Germany, no matter whether a terrorist’s weapon of choice was otherwise banned or permitted.  –  J.D. Tuccille

Time Warp

The Free Press recently published a bizarrely-anachronistic article that reads like something from the height of “sex trafficking” hysteria, 12 years ago.  If you have the stomach to actually read it, you’ll quickly discover why: both the writer and her primary source are Trumpists, and they blame “America’s fastest-growing criminal industry” (remember when that claim was obligatory in every “sex trafficking” tall tale?) on that Trumpist bugaboo, “Biden’s open border”, which apparently exists in the same fantasy world inhabited by toddler hookers shuttled around the country by pimp gorillas in dog crates to be raped 100 times a day by invisible men.  That source is a wannabe “rescuer” of the MAGA variety, similar to the nut bars in Tennessee who were recently raided by the TBI, or the associated Froot Loops in Arizona who harass aid workers and chase people through the desert.  Stenographer Madeleine Rowley gullibly swallows and regurgitates the self-aggrandizing wanking fantasies, the racist tropes, the bogus statistics and psychobabble, the “gang” copaganda, the asinine bragging of dangerous psychopaths like Grady Judd, etc; the only things missing are “King of the Hill” posturing and the claim that the average “victim” is 13.

The Punitive Mindset (#804) 

If there’s anything narrower and meaner than the mind of a prison official, I’m not sure what it might be:

The Texas Department of [Torturing Caged Humans] has banned yet another book in its prisons…this time, it was written by inmates themselves.  TEXAS LETTERS…[is] an ongoing anthology of letters written by [prisoners] detailing their experiences with solitary confinement…The publisher and editor, Damascus James…describes the project as a work that “explores the loss of sanity, humanness, and, oftentimes, hope through the personal writings” of [human being]s who have spent months, years, and sometimes even decades in solitary confinement.  Much of the collection features portrayals of violence from [screws] and grueling accounts of the living conditions…The banning of TEXAS LETTERS was not a surprise for James.  Not only does the Texas prison authority have a reputation for book banning but also for trying to e[uphemize] the term solitary confinement…

Torture Chamber (#1441)

The inevitable result of letting sociopathic thugs lock legally-innocent people in filthy cages for long periods of time:

…The[re has been a] spike in deaths at the…Tarrant County [jail since the election of] Sheriff Bill Waybourn…in January 2017…[more than] 65 people have died in [Waybourn’s filthy cages], compared to 25…during the 8-year period that preceded him.  Most of the…[victims were legally innocent], meaning they [were] never…convicted of…[any] crime…[and] his office…appears to be flouting a state law requiring sheriffs to commission outside [cop shop] investigations into all deaths in their jails…Waybourn…blame[s] the deaths on [his victims while]… Tarrant County has paid out millions of dollars to settle lawsuits [due to] horrific treatment of vulnerable people in [his cages]…the largest…involved a [mentally ill] pregnant woman…who deteriorated…for months until she became non-verbal, and eventually gave birth to…a…baby [who] died ten days later…[meanwhile,] Waybourn…[has] cultivated his celebrity status in [the MAGA cult, including going on talk shows and harassing migrants]…despite his county being hundreds of miles from the…border…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1462)

Surveillance beyond the wildest dreams of the Stasi:

German…politicians are responding to an August attack at a festival in Solingen with proposals for knife controls and biometric surveillance.  Given that the country’s already restrictive laws didn’t deter a terrorist from committing violence, it’s not clear why more laws would finally do the trick…The suspect is a 26-year-old Syrian man who was denied asylum and ordered to leave the country; he didn’t…he’s not a law-abiding guy…Would a terrorist…be deterred by stern signs forbidding carrying knives at festivals?…Also proposed is wider use of biometric data, including automated scanning of publicly available photos, audio files, and video on platforms including social media.  Any online information would be considered fair game for German authorities to grab and match against data from protests, crimes, suspects, or…watch lists…the coalition government is keen on expanding mass surveillance even though it was elected in part on a promise to curb such practices…

You Were Warned (#1477)

Politicians will use any trick to gain control of the internet:

The U.S. and the U.K. have signed a joint agreement to coordinate efforts to [control the] internet…[using the perennial excuse of] “stronger protections for children”…though…the U.K. [has]…no…free-speech legal tradition or anything like First Amendment jurisprudence …the agreement…[pre]tend[s] that U.S. and U.K. rights and practices can be considered compatible in order to enforce internet [censorship] of materials [politicians in] either…[country point at while belching out] “harmful to children”…according to…the Online Safety Act and the [opinion of]…the Baroness Bertin, [who has had a hand in drafting laws in the US], all adult content would fall into [bannable] categories …By signing the joint agreement, the U.S. appears to endorse…age verification[, which]…has repeatedly been struck down as unconstitutional by U.S. courts…The U.S. domestic legislative proposal most analogous to the OSA is the Kid’s Online Safety Act (KOSA), which is currently stuck in Congress…because of serious constitutional and privacy concerns…

The Cop Myth (#1478)

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

A [typical and representative] NYPD [cop murdered] his wife before [turning the gun on himself]…Sean…and Arlene O’Neill…[had] three school-age sons [who] were home at the time of the shooting [but were mercifully spared by their murderous father]…Sources [said] the couple [were fighting]…

The Vultures Descend (#1479)

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

The US…Postal Service…has known for at least the past decade…that foreign-made abortion pills are entering the U.S. and being distributed in quantity without prescription.  FDA regulations hold that this is illegal…[but] days after Roe was overturned in June 2022, the USPIS announced that it would not proactively pursue pill mailers, even in states where abortion was being banned…however…the USPIS does go after people…without medical credentials who mail prescription drugs…so it employs local police dogs and their handlers to check the mail for contraband and provide the probable cause needed to get warrants…Police dogs…are trained to smell only the illegal drugs heroin, marijuana, ecstasy, fentanyl, and cocaine, not the ingredients in abortion pills…[but] canines are exquisitely sensitive to the minutiae of a human’s posture, eye movements, and other subtle behaviors.  Handlers wishing to develop probable cause to do intrusive searches for narcotics can coax their dogs into drug-alerting behavior…Cueing can be deliberate, but it’s more often unconscious…

 

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 (#1481)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 16, 2024| Leave a Comment »

If you want to kick the door in…you’re more than welcome to.
–  Paige Mitchell

Above the Law

Your “leaders” at work:

A [North Carolina politician named]…Richard Braswell…[has been] sentenced to…prison…[for] 20 to 33 months and [condemned] to [the]…sex offender [registry] for 30 years…[because] in April 2022…[he molest]ed a 13-year-old girl…Divorce records filed by Braswell’s wife said…he…“took the victim and her brother with him to work under the pretense of having them do some work for him, then sent the victim’s brother on an errand”…

The Cop Myth (#1306)

Sleeping with cops isn’t safe for men, either:

…three Elyria [Ohio cops] stormed a man’s home, tased and arrested him without [cause or] warrant on May 11, 2023…Raul Ortiz…[was attacked by his cop] ex-girlfriend, Brittany Warner, [with two other thugs and permission from senior sow Paige Mitchell.  The gang] kick[ed] down Ortiz’s front door[, supposedly] to retrieve [Warner’s] belongings…though she no longer lived [there]…then tased, arrested and charged Ortiz with five felonies, all of which were later dropped…[politicians] wrote that [Mitchell’s okaying this]…“defied common sense”…but [she was only given a slap on the wrist.  Henchthug]…Colty Hersh [was given an even milder love tap, and]…the third [thug] involved, Chris Lewis, was [not even given a stern lecture.  Boss Hog]…William Pelko didn’t [even deign to notice his pigs’] actions until…a year after the [crime was committ]ed, just eight days after [local news] first reported it…Ortiz has filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Elyria, [the cop shop] and each [offending cop]…

When Ambulance-Chasers Run the Hospitals (#1444)

The claims in these nuisance lawsuits are increasingly absurd:

More than a dozen states are filing lawsuits…accusing TikTok of harming the well-being of children by using [magically-]addictive product features that keep them [spellbound] on the platform, in a [moronic] salvo that amplifies the company’s legal perils as it tries to stave off a federal ban.  Attorneys general from 13 states and the District of Columbia are a[bus]ing…local consumer protection laws by [ascrib]ing [supernatural powers] to [a program], exposing young users to mental and physical risk…The complaints represent the second multistate attempt to [loot] a major social media company…[using spurious] claims they are contributing to a youth mental health crisis in the United States [which is actually caused by government-encouraged intrusive surveillance and infantilization of young adults], following a flurry of similar lawsuits against Facebook…last year…California AG Rob Bonta…is co-leading the [witch hunt] alongside…New York AG Letitia James, [claiming]…that TikTok [vampirical]ly designed the app to “feed on young users”…[the rest of the nitwit parade consists of] Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Jersey, Oregon, South Carolina, Vermont and Washington…

The Punitive Mindset (#1457) 

Modern attorneys general are vile even by the low standards of politicians:

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall and 13 other [fascist] attorneys general [have] filed a petition…asking a federal court to block new rules that reduce the cost of phone and video calls with people in prisons and jails…The [politicians object to] new rules…prohibit[ing] telecommunications companies from paying commissions or kick-backs to jails and prisons…and [to] long-term benefits that include lower risks of reoffending and an increased likelihood of successful re-entry…[which would reduce the] prison…[popula]tion…[they also object to] prisons and jails [being less able to bleed needy families to increase their profits]…

Unsafe for Human Consumption (#1467)

Politicians and bureaucrats are empowered to force stupidity on others:

Every morning, before opening the mail, Tulsa County Election Board employees Kerry Martin and Taylor Gutierrez put on N95 masks, face shields, medical smocks and surgical gloves…[because] Election Board Secretary Gwen Freeman [is a yokel who believes copaganda about]…election boards across the country receiving mail containing fentanyl…“one piece of mail that was sent to the state Election Board in Oklahoma City…included a multi-page document and…flour…[causing] Freeman [to absurdly belch out “]dangerous substances[“] …“It’s unfortunate that we live in a society [where idiots] have [the power to force us] to do this kind of stuff,” Martin said…

The Cop Myth (#1477)

If he’d been wearing his magical clown costume, this would’ve gone very differently for his victim:

A homeowner shot and killed an…Atlanta [cop] who…broke into his home…around 5 a.m. [without a magic scroll of permission]…Aubree Horton…was…recently [named] “Investigator of the Year” at the [cop shop]’s annual [self-aggrandization] breakfast…[fellow cops excuse]ed Horton [as] “experiencing a mental health episode or under the influence of narcotics”…[when he was] shot [by his intended victim] in self-defense…

Torture Chamber (#1480)

Your “leaders” call this “correction”, but “journalists” shouldn’t parrot them:

[Screw]s routinely lock severely mentally ill men in [cages] on Rikers Island for weeks and even months in [flagrant] violation of city law, [according to] a jail social worker who [finally developed enough backbone to quit] three weeks ago…

 

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!

Read Full Post »

In the News (#1480)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 12, 2024| Leave a Comment »

The staff in these prisons DO NOT see us as human beings.
–  Anthony Ehlers

The Last Shall Be First (#1242)

Looking-glass politicians claim cutting a window into a bathroom “adds privacy”:

A[n]…elected school board…in [Pennsylvania have now designated]…five different types of bathrooms…[on] the…[advice of] a Christian law firm…the board approved spending $8,700 to cut windows so passersby can look into the so-called “gender-identity” student bathrooms…[claim]ing that the windows help “[add] privacy in the toilet facility” and that they “increase oversight of the wash area”…[this] is an intimidation tactic designed to make sure students who use the so-called “gender-identity” facilities…know they’re being watched, controlled and judged…

Thought Control (#1391)

Surely you didn’t think this crusade would stop with libraries and the internet?

[Authoritarian busybodies] are [once again trying to use]…Texas’ obscenity laws…[to ban] sex toys.  The [puritans] are [now claiming] colorful boxes…[only] appeal to children…[and a delusional nitwit named Christin Bentley spastically barfed out non sequiturs about toothbrushes, relativity and libraries while claiming]…”children” are…employees…of [drugstores]…

You Were Warned (#1439)

Politicians keep openly trying to destroy the internet:

Hillary Clinton said on CNN  this weekend that repealing Section 230 of federal communications law should be a top political priority…politicians hate Section 230 precisely because it makes it more difficult for them to censor [or otherwise control] what is said online…Clinton makes [it] sound like [not holding platforms responsible for content they didn’t create is] some sort of aberration or anomaly.  But…if a person on private property engages in speech that is somehow criminal, we don’t hold the property owner liable.  If people use the telephone to hatch criminal plans, we don’t arrest the phone company.  If I use a Sharpie and to write you a threatening letter and then send it in the mail, you can’t sue the makers of Sharpie or the U.S. Postal Service…Clinton went on to make the ridiculous but all too common suggestion that social media companies aren’t actively monitoring and moderating content. “If the platforms—whether it’s Facebook or Twitter…or Instagram or TikTok, whatever they are—if they don’t moderate and monitor the content, we lose total control,” she said…

The last two words of Clinton’s quote spell out exactly what politicians want for the internet.

Thought Control (#1462)

As I’ve said many times, the urge to censor is a mental illness:

As [authoritarians] spread the book-banning movement across the nation, Utah has quickly arisen as one of the most dystopian states…The state recently passed a law that allows it to enact statewide book bans…and…The Utah [Ministry] of [Truth] also suggested adding a stipulation…that would’ve required teachers to burn the books banned statewide…the state’s…politicians and [their henchmen] recently held a book-banning party to…demand that authors “repent” for writing books….[so] the fact that they’re now targeting Little Free Libraries is hardly surprising.  If there’s one thing book banners have proven time and time again, it’s that they never stop…unless they successfully ban and destroy every book they dislike nationwide.  First, they claimed they just wanted to take “inappropriate” books from schools and classrooms, but then they started targeting public libraries.  Then, they began targeting book fairs and book awards and even went after Girl Scouts’ projects.  Their next step is preventing citizens from exchanging books and maintaining Little Free Libraries on their private property…

Torture Chamber (#1462)

Your “leaders” call this “correction”:

Michael Broadway [died of an asthma attack triggered by extreme overheating while locked in a cage by the State of Illinois]…His history of severe asthma was well-documented, and prison medical staff had prescribed him medications for the condition.  Yet [a] nurse instead twice administered…Narcan as she yelled [“Stop faking!”] at Broadway…Th[is obscene excuse for] medical care…is [typical] for the nearly 30,000 people [locked in cages] by the Illinois Department of [Torturing Caged Humans (IDOTCH).  Contractor] Wexford Health Sources…has long [flagrantly]…neglect[ed] and abuse[d victims]…providing such poor treatment to older people with dementia that court monitors [described] it [as] elder abuse…Nonetheless, earlier this year, [IDOTCH] inked a 5-year, $4 billion contract with Wexford [thanks to rampant corruption in State bureaucracy]…

The Cop Myth (#1475)

Cop deals with disagreement exactly as he’s trained and paid to, and everyone claims to be shocked:

A [typical and representative Houston cop named]…Jonathan Torres…was charged with assault…[after he] slammed a laptop shut on his wife’s hands, causing “visible injury”…then told her she was going to jail and…[forcibly] handcuff[ed]…her…he…[then dragged]…her to…the ground…[sat] on her stomach and threatened to tase her if she did not comply with his commands…The wife was “crying and screaming for help”…Torres…was arrested but is [currently at large, apparently after posting bail]…

Also note the attempt to pretend this is atypical by calling him a “rookie”.

Paying the Bills

Two 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 $700.  So now I’m only facing a $2300 shortfall; if you aren’t yet a subscriber, won’t you please consider becoming one?  A $1/day subscription would take $90 off of that total, and other levels would help in proportion.  Or if you’re already a subscriber but can spare some extra right now, I’d really appreciate it; it would be great if I can catch up by my birthday!

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!

Read Full Post »

In the News (#1478)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, The Dark Side, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 5, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Women are not some piece of collectively owned community property the disposition of which is decided by majority vote.  –  Judge Robert McBurney

Policing for Profit

This will never stop until it is treated as what it is: armed robbery:

The predatory, for-profit policing of the Lexington [Mississippi cop shop] has repeatedly violated the civil rights of residents, making arrests equal to roughly a fourth of the entire town’s population and burdening them with fines and debts of over $1.7 million…around $1,400 for every man, woman and child in the town…[a DoJ] report details a litany of brutal, extractive practices primarily aimed at the Black residents of Lexington: countless arrests over extreme minutiae, including…“jailing people for conduct that is not criminal, like using profanity and owing money to the police.”  Since 2021, Lexington police have engaged in an aggressive campaign of punishment, often violent, against the residents of the town…the Lexington Police…Department’s funding ballooned from…$662,925 to $965,130 in 2023, all a consequence of the plunder…[civil rights lawyer] Jill Collen Jefferson…said the residents of Lexington have lived under what amounts to a state of occupation…Police Chief…Charles Henderson…[h]as a[lso tried to coerce] roughly a dozen women [into] sex, jailing or ticketing those who refused…[and] multiple [Lexington cops]…routinely [follow his example]…

Business As Usual (#1254)

Politicians want to pay for “self-care” for cops traumatized by raping dirty whores:

Both houses of Congress have approved the IMPACTT Human Trafficking Act…and it’s now awaiting President Joe Biden’s signature.  The bill would provide “self-care” services to Homeland Security Investigations…staff [“]exposed[” to women they infantilize as “]victims of human trafficking[” they choose]…to subject…to…traumatizing experiences…[most] of the “human trafficking” work the agency does just involves plain old prostitution stings…particularly when the[y] target Asian massage businesses.  At best, these stings tend to be dubious uses of resources and authority…At worst, they put people vulnerable to violence and sexual exploitation in more precarious positions—by [brutaliz]ing…sex workers and saddling them with court fees and criminal records…or [steal]ing…the assets of immigrant sex workers and masseuses…and even [raping them]…

The Vultures Descend (#1323)

It’s rare to see a modern judge explicitly rule in favor of self-ownership:

A judge in Georgia…[named] Robert McBurney…ruled the [state’s 6-week] abortion ban unconstitutional under Georgia’s state constitution…“‘liberty’…in Georgia includes in its meaning, in its protections, and in its bundle of rights the power of a woman to control her own body, to decide what happens to it and in it, and to reject state interference with her healthcare choices,” McBurney wrote…“While the State’s interest in protecting ‘unborn’ life is compelling, until that life can be sustained by the State ― and not solely by the woman compelled by the Act to do the State’s work ― the balance of rights favors the woman”…Physicians in the state can now provide abortions until fetal viability, reverting to Georgia’s 2019 abortion law…

A Moral Cancer (#1450)

Prohibitionism is a dangerous mental illness:

Various “experts” are calling on state governments to impose age restrictions on the sale of nonalcoholic drinks…under the guise of protecting against underage alcohol consumption, based on the argument that products like nonalcoholic beer could be a gateway to the real thing…[but in] reality…studies [show]…”[nonalcoholic beverage] consumption usually started after adolescents began consuming alcohol”…in other words…teenagers are using nonalcoholic beverages in place of alcoholic beverages, rather than as an on-ramp to real drinking…

I Spy (#1461)

If “official” busybodies can spy on you via your car, so can unofficial ones:

…a group of independent security researchers revealed that they’d found a flaw in a web portal operated by…Kia that let the researchers reassign control of the internet-connected features of most modern Kia vehicles…from the smartphone of a car’s owner to the hackers’ own phone or computer…they were able to scan virtually any internet-connected Kia vehicle’s license plate and within seconds gain the ability to track that car’s location, unlock the car, honk its horn, or start its ignition at will.  After the researchers alerted Kia to the problem in June, Kia appears to have fixed the vulnerability in its web portal…But Kia’s patch is far from the end of the car industry’s web-based security problems…a slew of similar web-based vulnerabilities…affect…cars sold by Acura, Genesis, Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti, Toyota, and more…

The Cop Myth (#1464)

“Cop murders wife or girlfriend and claims it was suicide” is a recurring theme in this tag:

…Dan Howard, a [typical and representative]…Idaho [cop murdered his wife]…in February 2021…[then staged the scene to look like a suicide, claiming] he discovered his wife in the bathtub….[where] she had shot herself in the head…[but] there [wasn’t enough]…blood…In the laundry room, the dryer was running…[and] full of clean bath towels and mats…Howard appeared to have recently showered, changed his clothes, and applied fresh deodorant…no…signs of…a suicide note…they…had more than $2 million in assets…yet…Howard [was a tightwad, and they started to argue more after he got away with murdering]…a woman during a traffic stop…the…[wife,] Kendy…had an affair, and…told Dan she…wanted a divorce.  And she had started the process of buying a new house.  By the end of January 2021, just days before her death, Kendy met with a divorce lawyer…two years…[later] Howard was [convicted of] murder.  He…had…[broken] her jaw, then [strangled] her…[and] staged the scene by placing Kendy’s body in the bathtub and shooting her…

Paying the Bills

A week ago, I let y’all know 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 $600.  So now I’m only facing a $2400 shortfall; if you aren’t yet a subscriber, won’t you please consider becoming one?  A $1/day subscription would take $90 off of that total, and other levels would help in proportion.  Or if you’re already a subscriber but can spare some extra right now, I’d really appreciate it; it would be great if I can catch up by my birthday!

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!

Read Full Post »

In the News (#1475)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 24, 2024| Leave a Comment »

The whole story of the pursuit of Backpage is one of political opportunism.  –  Robert Corn-Revere

If Men Were Angels

This will continue until fools stop teaching children unquestioning obedience to “authority”:

A Southern California pastor [named]…Jose Alcides Vasquez…was arrested…on Sept. 5…[for repeatedly molesting and orally raping]…a [girl under] 14…[and orally and anally raping a girl under] 10…Vasquez has served as a pastor or volunteer at several churches in the region known as the Inland Empire…[Vasquez was reported by one of his victims] in 2021 [but cops dragged their feet because they were reluctant to arrest a preacher]…

Welcome to the Future (#805)

Welcome to the “safe” future you keep voting for:

[Billionaire psychopath] Larry Ellison shared his [nightmare] vision for a…[computerized] surveillance future…where [the government] would constantly monitor citizens through an extensive network of cameras and drones…[including] police body cams, doorbell cameras, and vehicle dash cams…”We’re going to have supervision,” he [gloated, absurdly]…attempt[ing] to paint his [1984 scenario]…in a positive light, [while completely ignoring the obvious erosion of]…privacy [and] civil liberties…”Big Brother is watching you” would take on new meaning in Ellison’s [fantasy dystopia, which is]…already becoming a reality…in…China…[where it is called the] “sharp eyes” campaign…leading to what The Economic Times called a “road to digital totalitarianism”…

Law of the Instrument (#1429)

The “sex trafficking” charges appear to involve ordinary “Fly Me To You” deals:

Sean “Diddy” Combs is facing federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges.  [Though the] indictment…accuse[s Combs]…of having “abused, threatened, and coerced women”…the racketeering conspiracy charge opens up the government to seizing way more assets than they would otherwise be allowed to seize…and…the Mann Act…charges…all…[involve male] sex workers…The indictment contains no allegation that he forced or coerced these sex workers into anything.  But if he arranged for their travel, across state lines and internationally, the feds have him on a Mann Act violation…

No Escape (#1442)

The 100% predictable result of giving sexually-aggressive men power over young women:

[Screws] at the Oregon Youth Authority sexually abusing teens and young adults [locked] in [their cages have result]ed in a series of federal civil rights lawsuits…[so far there are] six…[cases from] between 2019 and 2023…[involving] four [rapists and]…11 [rape enablers, but]…one of the attorneys representing the six [said]…“I do not think these are isolated incidents. This looks…[like] the tip of the iceberg”…So far, two of the [rapist screws]…have also been charged criminally…Travis Craft…was…indicted…in July [and arrested in early September]…and…Emily Echtenkamp…was…arrested…[last] December …Two other [rapists], Amira Andrade and Cherie MacDougall, were…accused in the lawsuits [but not criminally charged]…

Top Cop (#1458)

The author of this article in Politico seems to want to straddle the fence on Backpage while simultaneously scoring points against Cackling Copmala.  He quotes criticisms of her behavior from Kaytlin Bailey and Alex Andrews, but also creepy cheerleading from another cackling sleazebag prosector, Maggy Krell; he calls attention to her hypocrisy, but also approvingly and uncritically repeats her vile insinuations against Michael Lacey & Jim Larkin; and while his quoting of civil liberties concerns has a sneering undertone, his quoting of “sex trafficking” propaganda is not so colored.  Read it if you wish, but pay attention to the slant.

The Cop Myth (#1469)

How long will America ignore the costs of its sick worship of state-sanctioned violence?

For decades, California police chiefs and sheriffs have lamented how difficult it is to fire [brutal, dangerous cops due to]…powerful [cop gangs] and [bad laws]…what has remained a secret until now, is how they have repeatedly turned to an under-the-radar method of getting rid of problem [pigs] — one that not only allows the off[end]ers to avoid accountability but…[also] to quietly move on to other jobs where they are [again given power] to [abuse] the public….“clean-record agreements”…[are shady] legal settlements that promise to hide the [dangerous pig’s] wrongdoing…in exchange for the off[end]er’s guarantee to leave…without a fight…[even more galling,] these deals…sometimes include a cash payment…In the past decade, at least 163 California [cop shops] have…[made these devil’s bargains with at lea]st 297 [dangerous thugs]…52 were subsequently hired by another [cop shop and] 56 were hired as security guards or [screws]…16 [went on to] teach…[rookie cops, and] three [became politicians]…Payments…[were] as high as $3.1 million…

The Cop Myth (#1474)

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

A [Florida cop named]…Brian Housend was arrested…[for] kidnapping [his ex-girlfriend at gunpoint]…He had [stalked her for months, and recently aimed]…a green laser, which she believed to be the type equipped to a firearm…into a window in her home…[after] a series of…threatening emails and text messages…[back in February] Housend [threatened her with] a rifle…in [response to her]…calling internal affairs…[over his] abuse…

 

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!

Read Full Post »

In the News (#1474)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 20, 2024| 1 Comment »

A poppy seed bagel should never be the impetus of a child welfare investigation.  –  Emma Camp

Against Their Will (#321)

Authoritarians, like leopards, cannot change their spots:

As he seeks to become Oregon’s…attorney general…Will Lathrop has touted his five years leading a…[rescue industry group]’s efforts to e[nslave women in sweatshops] and [abduct their children] in Ghana…his…campaign ad[s burble the usual nonsense about] “rescu[ing] children from human trafficking and protect[ing] women from violence”…But a BBC documentary from 2023 tells [the truth]: that a single-minded focus on setting and meeting targets resulted in Lathrop’s team [conspir]ing with police to…kidnap…children…from their families under false pretenses…The International Justice Mission…[is one of the most notorious rescue industry profiteers]…and…reporter Kyenkyehene Boateng…[working with] an undercover journalist…[made] “The Night They Came For Our Children”…[which] highlighted two [atrociti]es during [Lathrop’s] tenure…[including one where] armed [cops raided] a…remote…village…in the dead of night to [abduct] four children…[from] the[ir] grandmother…[at] gun[point]…They were [imprisoned]…for four months…[while] two of the[ir] uncles were arrested and charged with child trafficking and child labor law violations, charges that were ultimately dropped…

If Men Were Angels

This will continue until fools stop teaching children unquestioning obedience to “authority”:

Police [have] arrested a [California] pastor…[named] Juan Barrios, [after a man reported in May that Barrios] had [sexually] assaulted him [and his younger brother] for years, beginning when he was just nine years old…[in] 2009 and [continuing until] 2015, when their family was living with the pastor at his Riverside home…because of his position and the nature of the accusations, [cops] believe there may be other victims who haven’t come forward yet…

Devil’s Advocate (#667)

How long will society accept cops arresting men for fictitious “crimes” against imaginary people?

Cops are now using [computers] to generate images of fake kids, [then using] them [to entrap people] online, [bragging about the scheme in] a lawsuit filed by the state of New Mexico against Snapchat…because its “algorithm serves up children to adult predators”…[fantasy-roleplay]ing as “Sexy14Heather,” [a pervert cop] swapped messages with adult accounts…and…attempted to coerce the[m] into sharing [child porn]…a lawyer specializing in sex crimes, Carrie Goldberg, [said]…using [computer-generated images] could complicate investigations and carry its own ethical concerns…[but of course] ethical concerns [are never considered by]…cops…

Pretext

The “cops bearing gifts” PR scam is not limited to adults:

[The cop shop] in Chicopee, Massachusetts [bought] a used truck…in 2022…using money s[tolen from legally-innocent citizens]…and…then [extorted more money] from local businesses to wrap the truck and…provide ice cream for kids in the community for free…to [trick] children who might otherwise [correctly] associate the department with [armed state violence]…

So, a fancy windowless white van with “free candy” scrawled on the side.

Property of the State (#1353) 

How long will society accept its medical system being used as a tool of state violence?

Hospitals around the nation are administering unreliable drug tests to pregnant women, and siccing child welfare authorities upon them based on the results…federal data examined by The Marshall Project reporter Shoshana Walter…indicates that tens of thousands of babies are reported to authorities…[even though] it’s been long known that these drug tests are unreliable…[with] false positive rates as high as 50 percent…While more than half of U.S. states require hospitals to [snitch to] child welfare agencies if they suspect a mother used drugs during pregnancy, none require hospitals to confirm that those results are correct.  This means that when a mother has a false positive, she often lacks the ability to demand a more reliable drug test…[leaving] her…to…face humiliating, terrifying ordeals…

Vulture Watching (#1464)

The totally-predictable results of bad laws are happening just as sane people said they would:

In her final hours, Amber Nicole Thurman suffered from a grave infection…She’d taken abortion pills and…had not expelled all of the fetal tissue from her body.  She showed up at [an Atlanta] hospital in need of a routine procedure to clear it from her uterus, called a dilation and curettage, or D&C.  But just that summer, [Georgia] had made performing the procedure a felony…Any doctor who violated the new…law could…face up to a decade in prison….It took 20 hours for doctors to finally operate.  By then, it was too late…an official state committee recently…deemed her…[death] “preventable” and said the hospital’s delay…had a “large” impact on her fatal outcome…at least two [other] women have already died after they couldn’t access legal abortions…in their state…[but] Thurman’s case marks the first time an abortion-related death, officially deemed “preventable,” is coming to public light…

The Cop Myth (#1469)

This phrasing strongly implies strangling a woman while on duty is A-OK:

A Eugene [Oregon cop] was arraigned…[for] strangling a woman while off duty on Sept. 7…Joshua West…[attacked his girlfriend, but is at large anyway because he pinky-swore he’d be a good boy]…a spokes[cop bragged]…that West was “immediately” [rewarded with a paid vacation.  No surprise, given that when reported]…for [drunk driving and bizarre behavior] in 2016…he was not arrested or given a Breathalyzer test…

 

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