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Posts Tagged ‘Florida’

In the News (#1616)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 28, 2026| Leave a Comment »

We should not expect maintenance staff to report people for having too much lube.   –  Elizabeth Nolan Brown

A Broker in Pillage

This will continue until recognized as unconstitutional:

Oklahoma City’s…former city attorney Orval Jones blew the whistle…[on] the city[‘s]…”nefarious scheme” to divert [money stolen by cops under color of law] into police coffers instead of returning property to owners or using it to reimburse victims and the courts…Jones compiled a list of seizures spanning over 20 years that totaled over $400,000 in misappropriated funds…many [cops]…labeled [“unclaimed property”] owners as unknown even though their information appeared in police reports….[and] when the owner sued, he was reimbursed with taxpayer funds while police kept the cash…Jones was [forced to resign because the boss hog demanded it]…

If Men Were Angels

They’re not even all “youth pastors”:

[The] pastor [of] a Miami-Dade church was arrested [for repeatedly molesting] a 15-year-old [girl since she was 13]…Elco Vallier…[repeatedly groped] her and “attempted to kiss her”…[in addition to sending her sleazy] text messages…

Above the Law (#1012)

Your “leaders” at work:

Butler [Ohio] Mayor Wesley [the] Dingus…has been charged with…misdemeanor …voyeurism after…an underage…female [relative grew]…suspicious that Dingus was entering her room and purchased a small camera to document it…she received a motion alert on her phone approximately 15 minutes after leaving for school and later reviewed footage showing Dingus entering her room and sniffing her [dirty] underwear.  The following day, she received a second alert…[and] again [saw him] entering her room, smelling her worn underwear, and [this time starting to masturbate]…Dingus [is] out on bond awaiting trial on separate felony charges…[for] a [hit-and-run on] July 11, 2025…

Welcome to the Future (#1351)

They’re disappointed it didn’t help them arrest more people:

Dutch police haven’t used the[ir magic] Crime[-predicting computer] since mid-December…[because despite] the [hype] with which the police launched the system [it does not actually work]…Dutch police…were e[ager to create their own dystopia]…like Minority Report…in[spired by] American [abus]es of “predictive policing”…[but] it soon becomes clear that the promises cannot be fulfilled…[and civil liberties advocates pointed out] that systems like [these]…reinforce inequalities…The result, all in all, is a black box full of biases and without proven results…

Crying for Nanny (#1564)

Surely you didn’t think this ambulance-chasing would stop at hotels?

…in…California…a woman is suing two high-end apartment buildings for failing to stop prostitution…in their units…A.V. alleges that she was coerced into prostitution in San Francisco…and…[her pimp] rented an expensive apartment at the Avalon…and…complain[s]…that…the doormen or security…[should have harassed] the…visitors…and…residents of this $5,000- to $10,000-a-month building…[because] “she was dressed provocatively” and…was only 17…for [the first] few months of her time there…Are [staff] supposed to [harass any]…woman dressed provocatively?…Should they check the IDs of any female who looks young?  And then what?  There’s no law against teen girls visiting apartment buildings on their own…We need more and better services for people looking to leave…abusive partners, not a surveillance network of hotel maids and apartment-building doormen ready to call the cops on women in short skirts…

Walled Garden (#1613)

Last week I called this “a disaster waiting to happen”.  It didn’t have to wait long:

[After] the social chat app Discord [demand]ed…all new and existing users worldwide…[submit to face-]scan[ning as a condition for full]…platform…[access]…security…researchers…set out to look into Persona, the [fascist Thiel company]…used by Discord for biometric [surveillance]…and found [2,456 files] exposed to the open internet on a US government…server…the code revealed…that…Persona…compares your selfie to watchlist photos using facial recognition, screens you against 14 [government lists] from…terrorism to espionage…the software performs 269 distinct verification checks and scours the internet and government sources for potential matches…[then retains the results] for up to three years…[If] the software “flags you as a ‘suspicious entity’ based on your face alone”…[which is not unlikely given] Persona’s software has rep[ea]tedly made significant mistakes…[merely attempting to use a social media site] can quickly lead to the unjust termination of bank accounts…[which is] exactly what Persona was built to do…

Panopticon (#1613)

No, really?  Who could ever have guessed?

…Ring’s…founder, Jamie Siminoff, [admitted] to…Ring employees…[that “]Search Party[“, its]…automated surveillance system…[is not really] “for finding dogs”, but…[rather] to “zero out crime in neighborhoods”…[sane people recognized the system] as dystopian…[even before] Ring…launched a feature called “Familiar Faces,” which uses facial recognition to identify…friends and family members..[but] Siminoff [bizarrely tried] to [confuse the company’s useful idiot clientele by randomly belching “]Charlie Kirk[” at them]…

 

I find paywalls distasteful, and so many people find this blog valuable as a resource I just can’t bring myself to install one.  Furthermore, I find ad delivery services (whose content I have no say over) even more distasteful.  But as I’m now semi-retired from sex work, I can’t self-sponsor this blog by myself any longer.  So if you value my writing enough that you would pay to see it if it were paywalled, please consider subscribing; there are four different levels to fit all budgets.  Or if that doesn’t work for you, please consider showing your generosity with a one-time donation; you can Paypal to maggiemcneill@earthlink.net or else email me at the same address to make other arrangements.  Thanks so much!

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Links #816

Posted in Current Events, Links, Miscellaneous, Music, Obituary, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 22, 2026| Leave a Comment »

A young rock is probably a good thing.  –  Derek Leung

Though Fred Smith left Blondie before their first album was recorded, I decided to feature this little-known, very weird, very punk song from their debut album because I’ve always liked it.  The links above the video were provided by Nun Ya, Kevin Wilson, Jeremy Malcolm, Jesse Walker, Franklin Harris, Yasmin Nair, and Nun Ya again, in that order.

From the Archives

I find paywalls distasteful, and so many people find this blog valuable as a resource I just can’t bring myself to install one.  Furthermore, I find ad delivery services (whose content I have no say over) even more distasteful.  But as I’m now semi-retired from sex work, I can’t self-sponsor this blog by myself any longer.  So if you value my writing enough that you would pay to see it if it were paywalled, please consider subscribing; there are four different levels to fit all budgets.  Or if that doesn’t work for you, please consider showing your generosity with a one-time donation; you can Paypal to maggiemcneill@earthlink.net or else email me at the same address to make other arrangements.  Thanks so much!

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Links #814

Posted in Current Events, History, Links, Miscellaneous, Music, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 8, 2026| Leave a Comment »

For weeks, Democrats have pushed to require ICE agents to obtain the necessary judicial warrants ahead of any murders they plan to commit.  –  Hakeem Jeffries, sort of

Though most of y’all probably recognized the tune of the intro to last week’s video as “La Marseillaise”, you might not have recognized the melody of the main song as that of a jazz standard which was recorded many times in the 1950s, including this performance which appeared in Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy.  The links above it were provided by Ryan Marino, Dan Savage, Phoenix Calida, Jesse Walker, The Onion, and IncarcerNation (x2), in that order.

From the Archives

I find paywalls distasteful, and so many people find this blog valuable as a resource I just can’t bring myself to install one.  Furthermore, I find ad delivery services (whose content I have no say over) even more distasteful.  But as I’m now semi-retired from sex work, I can’t self-sponsor this blog by myself any longer.  So if you value my writing enough that you would pay to see it if it were paywalled, please consider subscribing; there are four different levels to fit all budgets.  Or if that doesn’t work for you, please consider showing your generosity with a one-time donation; you can Paypal to maggiemcneill@earthlink.net or else email me at the same address to make other arrangements.  Thanks so much!

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Links #813

Posted in Current Events, History, Links, Miscellaneous, Music, Obituary, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 1, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Get back in the game, or I’ll shoot you.  –  Andrew Lawson

Due to the plethora of guillotine memes that have populated social media since the current guillotine-worthy regime took power, I’ve often thought of this song, but it was the recent death of Brigitte Bardot which finally moved me to feature it.  The links above the video were provided by Nicholas Grossman, Jesse Walker, The Onion, Nun Ya, Jesse Walker again, Jessica Pishko, and Popehat, in that order.

From the Archives

I find paywalls distasteful, and so many people find this blog valuable as a resource I just can’t bring myself to install one.  Furthermore, I find ad delivery services (whose content I have no say over) even more distasteful.  But as I’m now semi-retired from sex work, I can’t self-sponsor this blog by myself any longer.  So if you value my writing enough that you would pay to see it if it were paywalled, please consider subscribing; there are four different levels to fit all budgets.  Or if that doesn’t work for you, please consider showing your generosity with a one-time donation; you can Paypal to maggiemcneill@earthlink.net or else email me at the same address to make other arrangements.  Thanks so much!

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In the News (#1608)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, The Dark Side, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 28, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[Letting] pregnant women [die]…is consistent with accepted standards of care in our region.  –  mouthpiece for Cone Health in North Carolina

Gorged With Meaning (#408) 

You know puritanism has run amok when a college student is forced to apologize for going to one of her school team’s football games:

Former adult film star Abella Danger found herself at the center of unexpected attention this week after a televised crowd shot during the NCAA final sparked online chatter and attention she…never wanted…she is…currently a [law] student at the University of Miami, a[nd when she attended]…the [game]…at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium…[an ESPN] camera[man made the questionable decision to] linger…on [her]…during a pivotal moment late in the game…[hypocritical porn] viewers [who] recognized [her apparently blamed her sex rays for jinxing the team or something].  “I am so deeply sorry to anyone I offended with my attendance at the game,” she told [TMZ]…

Something Rotten in Sweden (#750)

Washington state politicians are still ignoring advocates’ advice in favor of puritanical virtue-signaling:

[Politicians] are moving fast to [worsen] Washington’s laws on [adults having consensual sex]…before international travelers come to town for the 2026 FIFA World Cup…the King County Prosecut[or’s office vomited decades-old prohibitionist propaganda at them to]…bump up…paying for sex from a simple misdemeanor to a…felony [because prosecutors aren’t ruining enough lives yet]…

Sex Rays (#1367)

When there’s no censorious payment processor in the way, sex businesses can be powerful helpers:

…the folks at Minneapolis sex shop Smitten Kitten…have mobilized to support neighbors amid a violent and unrelenting [pogrom] by the Trump [regime]…inside the shop, volunteers are organizing canned foods, diapers, clothes, and other essentials to be distributed to…“families that are stuck at home because they’re scared of…ICE [attacks]”…the shop’s Instagram page has been leveraging its platform to boost donation opportunities for community members in the area, sharing GoFundMe, Venmo, and Cash App campaigns…The shop is also partnering with neighboring businesses…to make sure people are being fed.  And volunteers are standing outside of the shop to protect anyone coming in or out from [attack by goons] in the immediate area…

Welcome to the Future (#1414)

Anything connected to a computer can be used to spy on you:

…It’s standard for workplace printers to log certain information, such as the names of files they print and the users who printed them.  In an apparent attempt to avoid detection, [a whistleblower]…took screenshots of [government] materials, cropped the screenshots, and pasted them into a Microsoft Word document…[but his fascist contractor] employer could see not only the typical metadata stored by printers, such as file names, file sizes, and time of printing, but…also…the actual contents of the printed materials — in this case…the screenshots themselves…Whenever someone presses print in a network outfitted with this printer monitoring software, the program creates a clandestine copy of the file and generates an image of page…printed…users might be entirely unaware that the contents of printed files are archived…

Torture Chamber (#1437)

New York supposedly bans long-term solitary confinement:

Teenagers as young as 12…in New York [dungeons] are held for prolonged periods in solitary confinement cells without plumbing…A federal class action lawsuit [was] filed by the Legal Aid Society and the law firm Jenner and Block [because]…New York…”routinely and unlawfully imposes solitary confinement”…in filthy, dehumanizing…cells for 23 to 24 hours a day—in some cases for weeks or even months at a time…”Almost none of the cells…have toilets or sinks.  As a result, [victims] must [beg] to be released from their cells to use the bathroom or be forced to use garbage pails, water bottles, food containers, or buckets to relieve themselves…The smell of urine and feces can permeate these [cell blocks]”…

Vulture Watching (#1534)

Another look at the totally-predictable results of bad laws:

…dangerous miscarriages…are relatively rare events.  What are far more common…are high-risk pregnancies…Each year, hundreds of thousands of women enter pregnancy with chronic conditions that put them at an elevated risk of long-term complications and, in some cases, death…[bu]t abortion bans generally don’t include exceptions that cover these kinds of health concerns…instead, the exceptions are for the “life of the mother.”  In practice, this often means doctors won’t act without strong evidence that their patients are very likely to die.  Where there have been efforts to create…exceptions to cover a range of medical risks women can face in pregnancy, [forced-birth fanatic]s have fought against them…

Aladdin’s Satellite (#1566)

Every so often the areas of my reporting beat converge:

…In posts on ManyVids, the porn platform’s official account holds imaginary conversations with aliens, alongside [computer]-generated videos of UFOs, fractal images, “angel numbers,” and a video of its founder and CEO Bella French in a space suit shooting lasers from her eyes.  French launched the site in 2014 as a former cam model herself, and the platform has millions of members and tens of thousands of creators…[yet she] recently changed her personal website to state her new goal is to “transition one million people out of the adult industry and do everything we can to ensure no one new enters it.”  The statement follows posts…about new strategies to pivot the site toward safe-for-work, non-sexual content.  This sudden shift away from years of messaging about being a compatriot with sex workers, combined with bizarre [chatbot]-generated text and images…has made some creators worry for their livelihoods, and caused others to leave the site completely…When faced with backlash, MV removed the ability to comment on posts…[which] appear to be ramblings and images generated by a person in active psychosis…

 

I find paywalls distasteful, and so many people find this blog valuable as a resource I just can’t bring myself to install one.  Furthermore, I find ad delivery services (whose content I have no say over) even more distasteful.  But as I’m now semi-retired from sex work, I can’t self-sponsor this blog by myself any longer.  So if you value my writing enough that you would pay to see it if it were paywalled, please consider subscribing; there are four different levels to fit all budgets.  Or if that doesn’t work for you, please consider showing your generosity with a one-time donation; you can Paypal to maggiemcneill@earthlink.net or else email me at the same address to make other arrangements.  Thanks so much!

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In the News (#1606)

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

No puedo respirar.  –  Geraldo Lunas Campos

Policing for Profit

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

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

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

Stupor Bowl (#914)

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

Creepy Coppers

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

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

To Molest and Rape (#1542)

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

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

Eavesdropping (#1573)

Another privacy-invading gadget from the usual antisocial assholes:

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

The Cop Myth (#1603)

They never stop demonstrating exactly what they are:

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

Torture Chamber (#1605)

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

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

 

I find paywalls distasteful, and so many people find this blog valuable as a resource I just can’t bring myself to install one.  Furthermore, I find ad delivery services (whose content I have no say over) even more distasteful.  But as I’m now semi-retired from sex work, I can’t self-sponsor this blog by myself any longer.  So if you value my writing enough that you would pay to see it if it were paywalled, please consider subscribing; there are four different levels to fit all budgets.  Or if that doesn’t work for you, please consider showing your generosity with a one-time donation; you can Paypal to maggiemcneill@earthlink.net or else email me at the same address to make other arrangements.  Thanks so much!

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In the News (#1592)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 25, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Mass surveillance…threatens people’s freedom of movement.
–  Christie Hebert

Stalkers in Blue

Cops are a constant menace to all women:

An NYPD [cop] faces federal charges [for] impersonat[ing] an ICE [goon to] demand…a victim report with [her] family to a…[concentration camp]…Atickul Islam…who [sometimes uses the alias] “James W. Anderson”…to [cloak his illegal activities, was trying to destroy the lives of]…the victim and [her entire] family…in [retaliation for her spurning his sexual advances]…

The Last Shall Be First (#1246) 

Texas’ deranged jihad criminalizes kindness to troubled adolescents:

…Texas…law…[now] bars public school employees from…using a different name, pronoun or other practice that [conflicts with] the birth sex.  [The law is bizarrely] dubbed the “Parents’ Bill of Rights”…[even though it] prohibits…faculty from [support]ing…[parentally]-sanctioned c[hanges]…frustrat[ing parents whose]…rights [the law ignores]…A few of these parents joined advocacy and teacher groups to file a lawsuit…in August, seeking to pause districts from enforcing the law while the case proceeds…Some Texas school districts and boards…have adopted [totalitarian] policies to [criminalize benign] teacher…[conduct] but many…are still allowing teachers to honor students’ preferred names and pronouns [at least in person]…

If Men Were Angels (ROTW #18)

Religious communities very often punish the victims instead of the rapists:

Over the course of about 20 years in two states, [Clint] Massie…sexually abused children with…[the assistance of] the Old Apostolic Lutheran Church…his abuse was such an open secret…that mothers warned their daughters to stay away from him…[after numerous complaints] church leaders told Massie to stay away from…children…but…never reported Massie’s crimes to police…Instead, [they coerc]ed the victims to take part in [so-called “]forgiveness sessions[“] which allowed Massie…to continue abusing children…[it was] not…[until] 2017..[that a] victim…[disobeyed] preachers…to report the crimes to police…

Panopticon (#1556)

Sometimes, protests can temporarily drown out the bleating of useful idiots:

…[Oakland, California politicians almost approved] a $2 million contract with Flock S[urveillance; the measure only failed because]…hundreds rallied against the threat of [ICE goons] and other federal [spooks] spying on residents, bypassing the city’s [cosmetic] sanctuary policies.  [Politicians were so gung-ho about expanding surveillance]…that two members of the local Privacy Advisory Commission resigned…and one subsequently filed a lawsuit against the Oakland [cop shop, which wanted]…the cameras [to expand their already-dystopian] surveillance [network]…But hundreds of public speakers…rallied [despite politicians’ pinky-swearing]…to [oversee] camera data…

Walled Garden

Safetyism is rapidly destroying the internet:

OnlyFans will screen creators in the United States for criminal convictions…[using a surveillance network named] Checkr Trust…[bizarrely bleating the word “]safety[” to distract from the transparent attempt to]…exclude [in-person sex workers] from the platform…

To Molest and Rape (#1567)

Good riddance to bad rubbish:

[A typical and representative] Miami…[cop named] James Hurley Edwards died by apparent suicide in [a] Federal [cage]…just days before he faced a minimum 15-year sentence for producing and possessing child [porn]…Edwards…was first arrested [in 2014 for molesting]…two brothers, ages 15 and 16…[but was given] a [typical cop sweetheart] deal…that allowed him to avoid being listed as a sexual offender…keep his $9,000 a month pension…[and serve a mere] 364 days in the Miami-Dade County jail followed by 10 years’ probation…But [last year]…Edwards [sent another man a child porn video to a gay man via a hookup app and he reported it to the FBI, who then took over]…the complainant’s online identity and…[tricked] Edwards [into incriminating himself]…He pled guilty in September to two federal charges…and was to be sentenced [last] Thursday…

Panopticon (#1591)

The fully-realized fascist police state has arrived:

The U.S. Border Patrol is monitoring millions of American drivers nationwide in a secretive program to [harass, assault, rob] and [abduct] people whose travel patterns it [pretends are “]suspicious[“]…The [nationwide surveillance]…network of [ALPRs feeds]…an algorithm [which] flags vehicles [for persecution] based on where they came from, where they were going and which route they took.  Federal agents…then [dispatch local cops serving as lackeys, who use bogus pretexts such as]…speeding, failure to signal…window tint or even [possession of]…an…air freshener…[to stop, interrogate, and even sexually assault drivers or destructively root through their possessions looking for loot]…

 

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 (#1587)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 8, 2025| Leave a Comment »

The administration wants to get as much data as it can, however it can, whenever it can.  –  Justin Levitt

The Last Shall Be First (#1495)

It only starts with demonized minorities:

The Trump [regime] is making it more difficult for [male] veterans with…breast cancer [to get care for the deadly disease]…a Department of Veterans Affairs memo…does not cite any…science.  Rather, it [quotes the mad emperor’s opinion] that [real men can’t get]…breast cancer…veterans who’ve previously qualified for coverage can keep it.  But…the roughly 100 male veterans who are newly diagnosed each year…will have to [somehow prove] their cancer was connected to their military service, a burden that has often been hard to meet…even [though] the rate of breast cancer among men has been increasing and the disease is deadlier than for women…and…research has linked breast cancer to toxic exposure…three years ago, [Congress made] it easier for veterans poisoned by Agent Orange and other toxic substances to get benefits…[but] Trump…[declared] that male veterans who get breast cancer will no longer be able to benefit from that…[absurdly justifying it by barfing] “Biden”…

Banishment (#1533)

The state uses bogus excuses to cram people into dungeons they will never leave:

…about 6,300 Americans [are condemned to so-called “civil commitment”] nationwide…Few of these men—and they are nearly all men—have any hope of leaving…About 1 percent to 5 percent of sex offenders are civilly committed after serving their designated prison sentences [instead of] being sent home…Civil commitment is an outgrowth of the sexual psychopath laws that emerged in the 1930s.  These laws indefinitely committed people labeled “mentally disordered sex offenders”…for consensual sex acts considered normal today: oral, anal, or same-sex sex.  A person didn’t even have to be convicted of a crime…In 1977, the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry published a report [demonstrat]ing…that civil commitment wasn’t an effective…ethical [or Constitutional] treatment, which led most of these laws to be overturned…[yet many such] schemes are [still around, and many came back in the 1990s despite clearly being] illegal…P[oliticians] justify civil commitment by arguing that SVPs are more dangerous to society than other criminals…but that’s [demonstrably un]true…Prison is arguably more humane [because]…at least prisoners know if and when they are supposed to get out…

I Saw My Brain (#1541)

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

A Florida woman is suing [psychopathic] sheriff…[Grady Judd for forcing]…her [to] write an apology letter to…her [rapist]…Taylor Cadle…[was accused by] Judd and [a sow named] Melissa Turnage…of lying…[about] her adoptive father…Henry Cadle, [who] has since been convicted of [repeatedly raping]…her between the ages of 9 and 13, after she [was handed into his clutches]…from foster care…in 2012…she initially did not report him for fear that she would [again] be [condemned to] foster care…[but] in July 2016, [she confided in] a church member…who…reported the [abuse] to [pigs] at the…Sheriff’s Office…[who had already decided she was lying before] interview[ing the rapist]…she was pressured by Henry’s wife into pleading guilty to [making false accusations], and was made to write apology notes to Henry and the p[igs] as part of her probation…[but the now-emboldened rapist continued] to [rape her, so she]…secretly recorded his abuse…[and] showed…[it to leering cops], which resulted in his arrest and conviction…[Judd called] the lawsuit…a publicity stunt…

When will Polk County voters tire of paying the many lawsuits that are filed against this cretin every year?

The Punitive Mindset (#1554) 

Fascism in action:

The [FCC] sets a maximum price that [fascist crony corporations] can [gou]ge [prisoners] for phone calls.  During the Obama and Biden administrations, it lowered the cap for prisons over time, to about 90 cents for a 15-minute call in a proposal the F.C.C. approved last year.  But the [Trumpist-infested] agency [has now] voted…to raise that cap to roughly $1.65.  The change may seem small…but the [US prison population is so large, the higher] rates [increase the profits of fascist telecom companies] by a total of $386 million a year…The change also matters to…state and local governments that…receive significant…kickbacks.  [Trump henchman] Brendan Carr [justified the graft by absurdly belching]…“safety and security”…Six states…now offer free phone calls…But [sleazier] states, like Oklahoma and Florida, [keep] rates…close to the current regulated maximum…

Enshittification (#1557)  

Unless a counterweapon becomes available, the internet will soon be unusable:

…Doublespeed…[is] a startup operating a phone farm to flood social media with [computer]-generated slop…phone farming is…most often used by hackers and financial criminals to use large numbers of devices to send spam texts, farm social media engagement, or generate fake reviews…the fledgling company…[claims] it…[make]s this [harassment technique more effective by] “instrumented human action,” a fancy phrase meaning the company’s phone bots will somehow [circumvent anti-spam]…algorithms [such as Captcha]…The [scheme] is backed by…Andreessen Horowitz…and…is obviously a violation of the terms of agreement for the top social media platforms…though it’s becoming increasingly…clear…these platforms are [not] interested in actually enforcing policies against spam bots.  Users on each site have grown more and more frustrated lately as…bot accounts are allowed to infest every last corner of the internet, an issue…tech critic Cory Doctorow calls “platform decay“…

I Spy (#1558)

If you think this will go away when Trump does, you are a fool:

[DHS]…intends to add state driver’s license information to a swiftly expanding federal system envisioned as a one-stop shop for [surveil]ing citizens…The plan…is the latest step in an [illegal] Trump [regime scheme] to pool confidential data from varied sources that it [openly admits] will [be used to persecute] noncitizens…[harass legal] immigra[nts] and [destroy the mad emperor’s ideological enemies]…DHS [has already] added…Social Security data…passport and visa information…[IRS and Medicaid information, bank account information, medical records, and more, but] state driver’s license databases often include a variety of sensitive information on drivers, including place of birth, passport number, biometrics, address, email and employment information…[opening the door] to citizens being [targeted in any way government spooks, goons, and thugs desire]…Advocacy groups have sued the federal government [because] the pooling of data…[blatantly] violates the Privacy Act…

Panopticon (#1584)

When cops have universal warrantless surveillance, they use it to frame people:

On Sept. 27, Chrisanna Elser…[was falsely accused of robbery by] Jamie Milliman, a…Columbine [Colorado cop]…who…[pretended it was credible to accuse a female] financial planner in her 40s…[of stealing a $25 package from a stranger’s porch.  The town of] Bow Mar…population…900…use[s a network of] Flock [Fascism] cameras to track vehicles as they pass through town…[justifying the warrantless] privacy [invasion by belching out the magic word “]criminal[“]…Milliman [blatant]ly [lied to]…Elser…[apparently believing] he [could bully her into confessing to]…the [crime by pretending to have “evidence” yet moronically]…refus[ing] to [produce it unless]…she [confessed before seeing it]…Elser [fought fire with fire, obtaining]…surveillance images from [her] tailor…and…her…electric truck…a theft allegation could damage or derail her career in financial services…[but cops and politicians kept trying to ruin her life, so] she…compiled her evidence into a voluminous Google Drive folder…drafted a 7-page affidavit…and…sent [it] to the [boss hog.  Confronted by reality]…the [government had little choice but to abandon the attack]…but there was no apology or explanation…[so] she’s considering suing…

 

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 (#1585)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 29, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Oh no, not another youth pastor.  –  Jessica Nicely

The War Goes On (#867) 

This started as a scheme to keep sex workers off of Tinder:

Tinder [has] announced…that identity verification with facial recognition will now be required for all new users in the U.S. in the coming months.  A facial scan is already required for new…users in California as of July…[and] new users in Colombia, Canada, Australia, India, and several countries across Southeast Asia must also complete one…users must take a video of themselves within the app…the…scan…[is used to determine] whether the same face is used in multiple profiles…and stored to verify new photos…

First They Came for the Hookers… (#1508) 

There is no such thing as an original idea from a politician:

Pennsylvania [politicians] are proposing a new 10 percent tax on porn.  The…”tiddy tariff,” as…Mike Stabile has dubbed it—would be levied in addition to the state’s normal 6 percent sales and use tax.  As a means to…raise revenue or discourage porn consumption…this…might make sense if most porn viewers were paying for porn videos or platform subscriptions.  But in a world of ample free porn, it seems unlikely to accomplish either of the state’s likely aims…And to the extent that it even further disincentivizes paying for porn, it could actually work against goals like protecting sex workers from exploitation, or keeping people from viewing porn that was made in illegal or exploitative ways…

Pennsylvania, of course, is not interested in protecting sex workers.

Panopticon (#1547)

Other mobile surveillance platforms aren’t enough; cops now want their own:

The Miami-Dade County Sheriff’s Department is the first in the country to test a new [robot pigmobile] decked in surveillance equipment…it is even capable of serving as a launch platform for [flying pig robots]…this is…a pilot program…sponsored by [fascist corporation] PolicingLab…as a feeler for the Sheriff’s public affairs folks…in order to…evaluate [how badly it will damage]…public trust…“Results will inform whether and how the program expands, potentially serving as a national model for [cop shops] across the country”…

The Cop Myth (#1570)

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

An FBI [spook in Virginia who murdered] a neighbor in [cold blood was allowed to skate without]…any time in jail…Benjamin Spinale shot…Jason Chamberlain in the middle of the street in February…he was…never charged for [the murder], but…faced four [slap-on-the-wrist gun] charges [instead.  Spinale has a history of threatening neighbors with his gun, having]…previously pulled [it] on a puppy and a group of teens.  The county prosecutor [absurdly claimed] there wasn’t enough evidence to charge Spinale [for] the [murder], despite being surrounded by sheriff’s deputies at the time…the first judge to hear the plea agreement called Spinale a vigilante and said he shouldn’t be allowed to have a gun in any capacity[, so the case was transferred to] another judge [prosecutors knew would] accept…the [corrupt deal]…

Shame, Shame (#1576)

Another ghoul looting graves:

Alan Hamel is doing everything he can to [profit from his late wife] Suzanne Somers…One of [his creepy schemes] is a [computer-generated image synchronized with a chatbot trained on Somers’ writings and interviews, branded as]…”the Suzanne AI Twin”…Hamel, [who is either deeply senile or lacks the capacity for shame, claims]…”When…I…look at the two of them side by side, I really can’t tell which one is the real and which one is the AI”…

Torture Chamber (#1578)

Government thugs hate both queer people and migrants, so queer migrants are especially targeted:

Queer and trans immigrants [locked in a] south Louisiana [dungeon] have…faced sexual harassment and abuse, medical neglect and coerced labor by [screws], and…[were] ignored or faced retaliation for speaking out…they were…forced…to perform hard [and pointless] manual labor [in the middle of the night and]…targeted by an assistant warden…named Manuel Reyes and his [gang, who]… beat them and denied them medical treatment [afterward].  “I was treated worse than an animal,” said Mario Garcia-Valenzuela, one of the [victims]…part of the [torture included repetitively moving]…heavy cabinets [back and forth across a room], and…using industrial-strength [cleaning] chemicals without gloves or protective gear…[all in the middle of the] night…they were persistently sexually harassed by Reyes, who [also] entered their [cells to steal] possessions including [dirty underwear.  One of the victims]…is a [lesbian whom]…Reyes…oral[ly raped]…on a “near daily basis” between February and May 2024, threatening to kill her if she refused…to [submit]…

If Men Were Angels (#1582)

“Youth group leader“:

…a Phoenix…youth group leader…[named] Casey Goslin…was arrested on Oct. 16…for…[possession of] child pornography…Goslin…was…involved with a platform used to livestream child sexual abuse…[from] the Philippines…

 

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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Cowboy Logic

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, Perception, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 13, 2025| Leave a Comment »

There’s usually some kind of boogeyman…that justifies the building of a very extreme…policing apparatus.  –  Matthew Guariglia

It’s not unusual these days for a news item to fall into more than one category, so I have to figure out which is best; in such cases I typically link recent examples of the other applicable categories, or at least include them among the tags.  But sometimes the article does such a good job of analyzing the connections between the various categories, I feel it’s better to simply call my readers’ attention to the article and urge y’all to read it in its entirety.  This Reason article from a week ago today is a good example:

…On issues such as library books, abortion, gender, and even food, the culture war is now feeding the police state.  This phenomenon started in the states, and none have pursued it with more intensity than Florida and Texas, where governors and legislatures have competed to show that they’re fighting the hardest against what they call “woke”…[but] now…using criminal law, mass surveillance, [snitch] lines, and the threat of police violence to wage the culture war…is [becoming]…a danger to every American who wants to live, work, and travel without being monitored and menaced by the state…

…the…Trump…[regime]’s campaign against universities on such issues as anti-Israel protests, transgender athletes, and critical race theory were all preceded by Florida, wh[ich]…PEN America…[has] dubbed…the “blueprint state” for the White House’s run of education-related executive orders…The sheer number of bills churned out over the past few years by Florida and Texas is notable, especially in light of how petty the targets can be—drag queens, librarians, whoever might be using a certain bathroom stall…Also notable [is] those laws’ dismal track record in court.  Federal judges, even those appointed by Trump…have repeatedly struck down culture-war bills…represent[ing] a boundless paternalism…indistinguishable from the…identitarian politics that [proponents of such laws claim to oppose, such as bans on]…cultivated meat…[one] Texas [politician ludicrously defended as]…”plain cowboy logic“…in the bizarre, zero-sum logic of politicians like DeSantis and [Nebraska Governor Jim] Pillen, the freedom to eat bacon harvested from a pig that was alive and sensate before it was slaughtered is contingent on consumers never being given a choice to try an alternative…

…What makes the creation of new criminal statutes especially worrisome is law enforcement’s sweeping power to search and investigate targets…[via] vast, nationwide databases of personal information…facial recognition, cellphone surveillance, license plate tracking, sophisticated social media monitoring, and more…the huge surveillance architecture and data-sharing networks being created now won’t go back in the box when the current…[regime] is over, nor will they consider whether their targets used to have the right kind of politics…

There’s much, much more, bridging tags including Eavesdropping, Guinea Pigs, I Spy, The Last Shall Be First, Panopticon, Pyrrhic Victory, Thou Shalt Not, Thought Control, Universal Criminality, The Vultures Descend, Welcome to the Future, and many others.  So go read it!

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