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They are holding my puppy for ransom.  –  Caleb Gibson

If Men Were Angels

“Pastor and sex offender” is a large and ever-expanding group:

…a [Florida] pastor [was arrested] after two underage girls described the sexual abuse they endured at his hands…Derrell Redding…abuse[d one young teen and one girl under 12, but]…in August…the two girls decided to tell their aunt and uncle…

Many of them are “youth pastors”:

A [California preacher named]…Nicholas Garrett Corl…was [arrested for molesting]…a child under 14…an employee from [his]…church [called the cops on him]…Corl…[is] Youth Pastor…teaches…classes, [and] is the athletics director and basketball coach…

Others don’t have a church of their own:

A [California] priest…[named] Rodolfo Martinez-Guevara…[h]as [been] arrested…[for] possessing “over 600 images of child sexual abuse material, including…prepubescent…boys”…Martinez-Guevara…is affiliated with the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit Religious Order…[but] has been removed from ministry by the archdiocese and his order…

The Mote and the Beam (#786)

The government’s latest sleazy trick: attacking with civil suits rather than criminal charges, because the burden of proof is reversed:

A lawsuit filed by the Los Angeles city attorney’s office targets a motel…with a [harassment campaign] that…[is intended to make political coin out of the moribund “]sex trafficking[” hysteria for the politically-ambitious but unimaginative] Hydee Feldstein Soto[, who bloviated mathematically-imbecilic talking points from over a decade ago but lacks the spine to admit she hates whores]…

Between the Ears (#1104)

“Smart” devices aren’t, part umpteen:

A company that makes a [male] chastity device…that can be controlled by a partner over the internet exposed users’ email addresses, plaintext passwords, home addresses and IP addresses, and — in some cases — GPS coordinates, due to several flaws in its servers, according to a security researcher…who…gained access to a database containing records of more than 10,000 users, thanks to two vulnerabilities…He…reached out to the company on June 17 alerting them of the issues in an attempt to get them to fix the vulnerabilities and protect their users’ data…[but] the company…[neither] fix[ed] the vulnerabilities…no[r] respond[ed]…Given that he wasn’t getting any answers, on August 23 the researcher defaced the company’s homepage in an attempt to warn the company again, as well as its users…Less than 24 hours later, the company removed the researcher’s warning and restored the website…but…did not fix the flaws, which remain present and exploitable…

Property of the State (#1245)

The government thinks it even has the right to leer at the inside of your body:

Scientists in Poland have…developed lab tests that can detect whether people have taken abortion pills—and those tests are already being used to investigate pregnancy outcomes under the country’s abortion ban…Advocates in the U.S. have told people for years that, if they had to go to the hospital after taking the pills by mouth, medical workers wouldn’t be able to tell…these drug tests could mean even more people criminalized by the healthcare system…Hospitals in the U.S. routinely test pregnant women for drugs without their consent, sometimes [abducting] their newborns and other children as a result…

Unsafe for Human Consumption (#1304)

“Fentanyl” is becoming another porcine pretext for harassing and robbing people:

Days after Irvine [California cops pretend] they saved a pit bull puppy from a fentanyl overdose…a preliminary drug test on the pup came back negative.  [Now]…the city [is demanding] more than $2,000…ransom…[from] Caleb Gibson, the dog’s owner, [who said]…“I’m a college student on financial aid, so I don’t have that kind of money to throw around”…[cops] maintain…that the animal had overdosed [despite the negative test]…the…[fact] that dogs are far less sensitive to the drug than humans…and…[the fact that] it is not possible for [humans or] animals to overdose simply from being exposed to the substance by touching or inhaling it, despite police [fantasies]…to the contrary…

Served Cold (#1359)

Surprising absolutely no one who understands McNeill’s Law:

Tim Ballard’s exit from Operation Underground Railroad…followed an investigation into…sexual misconduct involving seven women…the [rescue industry con art]ist, who appears to be preparing for a Senate run, invited women to act as his “wife” on…overseas missions [suposed]ly aimed at rescuing victims of sex trafficking.  He would then…coerce those women into sharing a bed or showering together, claiming that it was necessary to fool traffickers…The total number of women involved is believed to be higher than seven, as that would only account for employees, not contractors or volunteers…Ballard…[already has a] new [rescue industry] organization, the SPEAR Fund; and…the [Mormon] Church…[has] accused Ballard of inappropriately using the name of a church elder…“for Tim Ballard’s personal advantage and activity regarded as morally unacceptable.”

Spotlight (#1373)

While I’m pleased to see Asstoon fall, the surveillance company he founded will still be outing sex workers to the pigs without him:

Ashton Kutcher has resigned as chairman of the board of Thorn, the anti…sex [worker] organization he co-founded in 2009 with his then-wife Demi Moore.  His wife Mila Kunis, who served as an observer on the organization’s board, is also stepping down.  The move comes in the wake of outrage over their letters of support for Danny Masterson, who has been convicted of raping two women…

 

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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I can’t breathe.  –  8-year-old murdered by US Border Patrol

License to Rape

Prohibition turns the body of every citizen into a “crime scene”, which can be violated by cops at will:

A [typical and representative] Orlando [Florida cop named Jonathan Mills]…was found guilty of [misdemeanor] battery nearly a decade after he…grop[ed] a [woman under the pretext of a “]search[” after belching out the word “drugs” in]…August 2014…Mills was sentenced to [a mere] 30 days in…jail…Mills…was kept on the force for years despite multiple complaints of misconduct since he was hired in 2012…[including] two…excessive force [lawsuits]…which cost city taxpayers $130,000…

Crying for Nanny (#997)

The hotel industry is really going to regret having collaborated with fanatics rather than fighting “sex trafficking” hysteria:

A Las Vegas, Nevada, woman alleges in a new federal lawsuit that she was…trafficked at an Albuquerque motel whose management “overtly encouraged” the “horrific” behavior in March 2019. The woman…contends that employees at the Midtown Motel 6…should have known that she was being repeatedly exploited by her trafficker and the “many men who sexually assaulted her.”  But no one intervened and no one called police…

IOW she had a pimp and they didn’t rat her out, so now she’s off the street and seeking a payout.  I can’t feel sorry for Motel 6, though, because the chain typically has such a cozy relationship with pigs they’ve actually been sued over it.

Vulture Watching

Psychopathy is typical in politicians, but these laws are indicative of complete derangement:

…By the time [Kiersten Hogan] arrived at the hospital, she had lost too much amniotic fluid for her son to survive — but hospital staff didn’t tell her that…“I was told that if I tried to discharge myself, or seek care elsewhere, that I could be arrested for trying to kill my child. So of course, I stayed”…[for] a harrowing five days…where…religious counselors repeatedly came to visit her, even though she had declined pastoral care.  She…[was] terrified of…going…into premature labor, and be[ing] arrested…she was [finally] discharged [after delivering a stillborn child] and told she could return to work the next day, “as if nothing had happened”…Hogan is one of eight new plaintiffs who [have] joined a lawsuit against the state of Texas…seeking clarification about what qualifies as a medical emergency under Texas’…abortion bans…lawyers for the Center for Reproductive Rights, which filed the initial suit in March, asked a district court…for a temporary injunction blocking Texas’ abortion bans in cases of pregnancy complications as the case continues…

Thought Control (#1308)

It seems I was destined to be threatened with state violence regardless of my career path:

Librarians could face years of imprisonment and tens of thousands in fines for providing…books to [legal minors if politicians arbitrarily declare those books “obscene” or “harmful”] under new state laws that permit criminal prosecution of school and library personnel.  At least seven states have passed such laws in the last two years…although governors of Idaho and North Dakota vetoed the legislation.  Another dozen states considered more than 20 similar bills this year, half of which are likely to come up again in 2024…Some of the laws impose severe penalties on librarians, who until now were exempted in almost every state from prosecution over obscene material — a carve-out meant to permit accurate lessons in topics such as sex education.  All but one of the new laws target schools, while some also target the staff of public libraries and one affects book vendors…the laws [are designed to] forge a climate of fear among school librarians, spurring…censorship [by librarians lest] books [religious fanatics and other self-appointed moral authorities dislike are later used as a pretext to persecute librarians]…

Torture Chamber (Chamber of Horrors)

I’m sure they helpfully yelled “Stop faking!” at this little girl as she died:

…an 8-year-old girl…died [while locked] in [a cage for over a week by the US] Border Patrol…[because] agents repeatedly ignored pleas to hospitalize her…as she felt pain in her bones, struggled to breathe and was unable to walk….Mabel Alvarez Benedicks said…“She cried and begged for her life and they ignored her”…People are [supposed] to be [locked in cages for] no more than 72 hours under agency policy, a rule that is violated [with nauseating regularity]…

The Cop Myth (#1335)

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

A [typical and representative Georgia cop]…was sentenced to life in prison for the [wanton murder] of his girlfriend in June 2020…Jason Cunningham…[murdered] Nicole Harrington…[because during and argument about her] seeing another man, known as Maui…[she said] “at least Maui has a large penis”, and Cunningham shot her point-blank in the head…[and left] her body…in [an] elevator…

Winding Down (#1335)

When will the federal government finally read the writing on the wall?

Minnesota, which legalized medical marijuana in 2014, [has become] the 23rd state to allow recreational use…Adults 21 or older will be allowed to possess two ounces or less of marijuana in public, share that amount with other adults, keep two pounds or less at home, and grow up to eight plants…Marijuana products will be subject to a 10 percent retail tax, in addition to standard state and local sales taxes…Local governments will be allowed to regulate retailers and cap their number but will not be allowed to ban them entirely…Cannabis consumption initially will be limited to private residences.  But the law eventually will allow marijuana use at specially licensed businesses and events…

 

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

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The government cannot use bogus criminal charges to attempt to silence its critics.  –  Kirby Thomas West

The Truth About “The Truth About…”

Just another of those nonexistent false rape accusations:

A 25-year-old Stanford University employee was arrested…and charged with felony perjury for…lying about being raped twice last year on campus…Jennifer Ann Gries…first [made] a false [report] in August…[claiming] that a [young black] man…dragged her to a restroom and [rap]ed her, the[n]…in October she went…to get another rape examination and told the nurse…that…a man…forced her into a basement storage closet [in broad daylight] and raped her…She…declined to speak with police…[both times, and] also claimed that she became pregnant with twins but suffered a miscarriage…Both of Gries’ [rape] kits were analyzed…[but] the…results “were not consistent with her story.”  On both occasions she…signed forms to get public funds…[from a] compensation [fund]…In January…Gries…admitted to lying about the rapes and wr[ote] an apology letter to the man…[s]he [had] target[ed, claiming]…”She…was upset with [him] because she felt he gave her ‘false intention’ and turned her friends against her”…

If Men Were Angels

This will never stop as long as people teach kids unquestioning obedience to “authority”:  “A Chalmette [Louisiana] pastor [named Milton Martin III has been] arrested for.molesting a minor…from 2010 to 2013; starting when the victim was just 14…

Permanent Record

Given that Italy has had a porn performer in its parliament (albeit in the less-puritanical 1980s), this outcome was unsurprising:

A judge has ordered an Italian university to pay…a prestigious academic after dismissing him…[due to] his former career as an adult performer.  Professor Ruggero Freddi performed in gay porn in the U.S. as Carlo Masi between 2004 and 2013 for Colt Studios, and later went on to receive advanced degrees in engineering and mathematics.  He was awarded 2,500 euros for unpaid hours and 1,500 euros for “unjustified dismissal”…

A Broker in Pillage (#918)

Wayne County, Michigan has openly stolen thousands of cars with similar tactics:

A Detroit man…[named] Robert Reeves[, represented] by the Institute for Justice…[is suing] Wayne County prosecutors [because they] twice filed baseless criminal charges against him after he joined a class-action lawsuit in an attempt to get his…car back…[after it was stolen by cops] in July of 2019…along with more than $2,000 in cash, after [they decided to absurdly accuse him]…of stealing a skid steer from Home Depot [despite having no evidence at all].  For more than six months, Reeves was not arrested or charged with a crime, and the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office…didn’t file [the paperwork]…to [steal] his car [under color of law], meaning he wasn’t able to officially challenge the [robbery].  Reeves then joined a class-action lawsuit filed by the Institute for Justice in 2020 challenging Wayne County’s aggressive asset [robbery] program…[in retaliation] the WCPO filed felony charges against Reeves for receiving and concealing stolen property, then asked the judge overseeing the class-action lawsuit to suspend his suit while the criminal case against him proceeded.  In February of 2021, after more than a year of delays…the judge in the criminal case against Reeves dismissed the charges for lack of evidence.  Less than a month later, the WCPO refiled the charges against Reeves.  In January of last year, that case ended with an identical result…

Property of the State (#1152)

Tennessee is now apparently emulating Alabama:

Bianca Clayborne and Deonte Williams were driving through rural Tennessee with their five young children when they were [subjected to a pretextual stop so cops could search their car with a dog]…when police found 5 grams of marijuana in the car, Williams was arrested and the five children were [abduct]ed by local child [“]protective[“] services.  One month later, the couple is still fighting to regain custody of their children…

To Molest and Rape (#1244)

Rapist cops don’t only target women:

…a…[Hong Kong] cop…surnamed Luk…was [arrested after a man was] found [dead] in a hotel…andanother…man…[was raped by use of] gamma-hydroxybutyrate, or GHB…commonly known as the “date rape drug”…[an unidentified] 28-year-old man asked a mainland man – whom he met on a dating app – to the [second] hotel the same night after he left the…hotel [where the dead man was found].  He spiked the mainlander’s coke, [raped] him, and left.  Then Luk entered the hotel room and also [raped] the [victim]…police arrested the 28-year-old…and Luk for…raping the mainlander…[and] will arrange for an autopsy to…see if [the other victim died from] an overdose of [GHB]…

The Vultures Descend (#1303)

This anti-abortion law seems to be specifically targeted at doctors:

Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon…signed into law a bill outlawing the use or prescription of…abortion pills…so-called “morning-after” pills…are exempted…[as is] any treatment necessary to protect a woman “from an imminent peril that substantially endangers her life or health,” as well as any treatment of a “natural miscarriage according to currently accepted medical guidelines”…The measure stipulates that a woman “upon whom a chemical abortion is performed or attempted shall not be criminally prosecuted”…

 

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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Silicon Valley lobbyists are…trying to avoid the real debate: whether technology this dangerous should even exist.  –  Fight for the Future

Cooties

Anti-sexworker bigotry harms all women:

An Airbnb host was caught on camera threatening to “smack” a woman in the face and calling her a “prostitute” before telling her no one would believe her if she complained…Yet despite complaints to Airbnb and local police, the man has faced no sanction more than four months on…Airbnb claimed it had suspended the listing, but several others from the same landlord – including one in the same building – are still available to book as of 6 January.  The woman and her cousin…were staying at the flat in Somerset…[when] at the end of August they say they received a phone call from the landlord threatening to physically attack them unless they left…he…the[n]…let himself into the flat…threatened them again, made racist remarks and pinned one of them against the wall…He told them…“You are prostitutes operating from this apartment”…Both women deny…that they were doing sex work on the premises, saying they only had a few friends to visit during their stay…

Fallen Idol (#1052)

Probably not the outcome prosecutors expected:

Former adult film star Ron Jeremy is suffering from “severe dementia” and will be declared incompetent to stand trial on multiple charges of rape later this month…weeks before Jeremy’s trial was slated to begin last year, his defense attorney, Stuart Goldfarb, [report]ed…his client did not recognize him…mental health experts called on by both prosecutors and…defense…have determined…there is no evidence he is faking his symptoms…dementia is a progressive and degenerative illness from which Jeremy is unlikely to recover…the experts reached their conclusion based on a review of medical documents and interviews with Jeremy, his relatives and several…[screw]s who interacted with him while in [jail].  Some of Jeremy’s relatives apparently suspected he suffered from dementia before his 2020 arrest…Jeremy is likely to be placed in a state-run hospital…

Torture Chamber (#1098) 

Perhaps Alabama’s state bird should be the ostrich:

The Alabama Department of C[ramming Human Beings into Filthy Cage]s will no longer track the number of…deaths [in its cages] by month…the department ended [2022]…with 225 deaths…[Chris] England, a member of the prison oversight committee, says now is not the time for less transparency…He wants to…require them to report more often..the Governor’s Office…[claims less frequent reporting is actually “]more accurate[“]…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1135)

Cops really don’t care how many false positives these systems shit out:

Instead of enjoying a late Thanksgiving meal with his mother in Georgia, Randal Reid spent nearly a week in jail in November after he was falsely [accused of grand larceny] by Louisiana [cops on the basis of] facial recognition technology…Reid…[was] misidentified as one of three people who allegedly stole over $10,000 in Chanel and Louis Vuitton purses from a pair of shops via bogus credit card purchases…[and arrested] by…Georgia…[cops during a traffic stop]…“They told me I had a warrant out of Jefferson Parish. I said, ‘What is Jefferson Parish?,’” Reid recalled. “I have never been to Louisiana a day in my life…”

Rooted in Racism (#1151)

In Europe as in the US, the real humanitarians are fighting against racist “anti-trafficking” schemes:

Greek prosecutors…[are putting] humanitarians on trial for search-and-rescue efforts that are protected under international human rights law and Greek law…The [latest] trial is…against…Sarah Mardini…Sean Binder [ans 22 others]…is riddled with procedural flaws that undermine their rights to due process and a fair trial…“Greek authorities…are going after people for saving lives the authorities didn’t want them to save,” said Bill Van Esveld…[of] Human Rights Watch…prosecutors…split the misdemeanor charges from felony charges in the case so the misdemeanors could be tried before expiring under Greece’s five-year statute of limitations…The misdemeanor charges…include espionage and forgery…based on humanitarians’ efforts to identify migrant boats in distress…[while] the…felony case misrepresents…search-and-rescue…operations as human smuggling by a criminal organization…

The Last Shall Be First (#1246) 

The war on trans people has expanded to include drag queens:

Arkansas [politician] Gary Stubblefield…[has] filed a bill…that would classify drag performances as…”adult-oriented business,” along with escort agencies…adult book…or video store[s]… massage establishment[s, etc.  The bill would also restrict all]…adult-oriented business[es from] be[ing] located on public property or anywhere where a minor could [possibly] view [them]…

It would be remiss of me to fail to point out that this wouldn’t be a big deal if sex work weren’t so stigmatized; maybe the queer community should’ve supported sex worker rights as we’ve been urging them to do for the past 20 years.

Panopticon (#1295)

Why bother with license plate readers when fools will pay to be tracked?

A team of security researchers managed to gain “super administrative access” into Reviver, the company behind California’s new digital license plates which launched last [October].  That access allowed them to track the physical GPS location of all Reviver customers and change a section of text at the bottom of the license plate designed for personalized messages to whatever they wished…“An actual attacker could remotely update, track, or delete anyone’s REVIVER plate,” Sam Curry, a bug bounty hunter, wrote…Reviver is the sole provider of these plates, [which] are legal to drive nationwide, and…[cost] between $20 and $25 a month…Users can digitally update the lower section of their license plate to display different messages…[such as] “Go Team!”  An accompanying app can also update a user if their car moves when it is supposed to be parked…the license plate will then display the text “stolen.” Reviver promises “continuous rollout of new features,” including automatic toll payment, parking payment, roadside assistance, and vehicle diagnostics…Reviver [calls this tracking device]…“security” [which] offers “true peace of mind”…

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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Is anybody out there?  –  “Metaverse gala” attendee

Not an especially seasonal selection, but it seemed the appropriate one for the death of its composer.  The links above the video were provided by Ed Krayewski; Amy Alkon; Radley Balko; Cop Crisis (x2); Jesse Walker, Mike Siegel, and Ally Fogg; and Clarissa, 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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I’ve always been a homebody, but now that I have a home that actually feels like home deep in my bones (for the first time in decades), it’s even more pronounced.  It’s not just the anxiety about flying (or the more general anxiety about the many things that can go wrong while traveling), nor even just practical concerns (like the difficulty of getting a decent cup of tea virtually anyplace in the US that isn’t my house, or the many factors that can make even an expensive hotel room unpleasant); above all else, it’s just that I’m comfortable in my routines and as I age, increasingly uncomfortable outside of them.  So though I’m not going to stop traveling (because there are lots of important reasons for doing so), I’m not one of those people who enjoys travel for its own sake.  And when I’m done with any given trip, whether to Seattle or another part of the US or another part of the world, I’m always glad to be back home safe and sound, sleeping in my own bed and cooking in my own kitchen and setting my own schedule without having to concern myself with traffic, checkout times, or having to figure out the logistics of getting breakfast when I’m not even fully awake.

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Here I stand, I can do no other.  –  Rikki de la Vega

A Broker in Pillage

Unlike other government departments, the IRS doesn’t even bother to accuse people of actual crimes before robbing them blind:

…Institute for Justice client Lyndon McLellan saw the…IRS…reach…into his bank account [to steal] his life savings without warning or cause in 2014.  McLellan [owned] a small convenience store…in Fairmont, North Carolina…he…worked long hours and rarely took vacations…Yet federal agents accused him of violating so-called structuring laws because his business frequently made bank deposits in amounts under $10,000…the[y stole] more than $107,000…”It took me 13 years to save that much money,” he says.  “And it took fewer than 13 seconds for the government to take it away”…

All-Purpose Excuse

“Sex trafficking” is a convenient excuse for any tyranny:

The Manitoba government is tabling a bill…[which] would require hotels and people operating on online accommodation platforms, such as Airbnb, to keep a record of guests’ information, including their names and addresses…and…to hand over that information to police…on…demand…without a warrant…[politician Rochelle Squires tried to justify this incredible violation of civil rights by vomiting out the words] “human trafficking”…and “children”…

Feminists and Other Puritans

It’s nice to see someone whose name isn’t Maggie McNeill writing about this:

…the worst form of prudery and repression is that which comes from those who also claim to be feminists…Women’s rights activists have been divided about sex from the beginning.  In the nineteenth century, the “free love” movement, which promoted birth control and sought to replace traditional male-dominated marriage with consensual unions of equal partners, butted heads with the “social purity” movement obsessed with controlling men’s lust as a way of eradicating such “evils” of prostitution and venereal disease…Those leaning towards the equality pole welcomed and worked with men who agreed with their goals, like Frederick Douglass and John Stuart Mill.  Those on the protectionist side, however, viewed men with skepticism, and demanded that they prove their worth by swearing to be chaste and “chivalrous” towards women…Not far off from contemporary pledges to not use porn or “end demand for sex trafficking”!  If the women who worked for social purity back then sounded like religious zealots, it’s because they were…

The Puritan Recrudescence

Politicians are increasingly convinced that they’re allowed to redefine legal concepts as they wish:

A strange new bill introduced by Oklahoma [politician] Rob Standridge would make it illegal to knowingly give “obscene material” to a “vulnerable person,” explicitly including unhoused people…SB 1522 [also includes] an unconstitutional redefinition of…“obscene material” as “any description, exhibition, presentation or representation, in whatever form, of nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement or sadomasochistic abuse”…Such supposedly obscene materials would include “book, magazine, newspaper, pamphlet, poster, print, picture, figure, image, description, motion picture film, record, recording tape, CD-ROM disk, magnetic disk memory [sic], magnetic tape memory, videotape, computer software, video game,” and other unspecified media to be determined by the authorities.  Despite his seeming concern for the moral hygiene of the unhoused, Standridge recently opposed a new homeless shelter, making statements conflating Oklahoma’s unhoused population with “sex offenders” and calling them “a public safety risk”…

Stalkers in Blue (#987)

Another cop demonstrates what he is:

A Bay Area [cop] has been charged with masturbating in front of a family that called police during a fraught domestic violence call…Matthew Dominguez…“milled around the home…keep[ing] the daughter in view of his Body Worn Camera”…Dominguez [later]…unzipped his pants and began rubbing his crotch…[in full view of the mother and] daughter…Dominguez [kept] follow[ing the daughter]…around…The mother and daughter then went to find…the father…who…[also] “saw…Dominguez…with his erect penis in his left hand”…

Blunt Instrument (#1012)

This would be a much better article if it didn’t pretend that prohibitionism is a solely a phenomenon of the “right wing”:

For the past year, low-income Asian women in Newmarket [Ontario] have been engaged in a fierce battle with [politicians]…working to close down their massage businesses by claiming that the workers are both disreputable criminals and sex trafficking victims…in January…the town council imposed a set of regulations requiring massage businesses to get a new type of licence…[under] threat…[of] fines of $4,000 to $5,000 per day…the town…[is] using a fake anti-trafficking campaign…with zealous support from [the usual suspects]…thanks to centuries of racism and employment segregation in North America, body rubs are associated with crime, sex work, and people of colour…Newmarket town council declared their intention to create new rules that would drive out the businesses that they defined as “appeal[ing] to sexual appetites,” and the “brothels” that town councillors claimed were “hosts for human trafficking.”  Their…plan was to get rid of suspected sex work by tightening the rules so that only businesses whose workers have formal educational certifications from Canada could get the newly [inven]ted Personal Wellness Establishment Licence…[such] certifications can take years…and tuition can cost thousands of dollars…

Repeatedly claiming that prohibition in Canada is “right wing” when Trudeau and his party eagerly promote it is tantamount to pissing on the readers’ legs and telling them it’s raining.

Torture Chamber (#1182)

The government needs to be buried in lawsuits before this will stop:

[Young men] at a South Carolina…[prison are locked in cages] with feces on the floor, mold on the walls, and cockroaches in their food, according to a new lawsuit…the kids — who range in age from 13 to 19 – are [also] subjected to routine violence by [screws and] other [prisoners]…[screws also] use solitary confinement — in cells with no natural light — as a way to “protect” them from violence…some[times for]…months [at a stretch], and there [are] no meaningful educational or mental health services for the[m]…the…[prisoners] are disproportionately Black and from families that live below the federal poverty line…

Once again: it does not help young victims of governmental brutality to infantilize them as “children”.

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The pursuit of sex buyers…functions…[by] targeting people in the sex trade and result[s] in forced evictions, deportations and police harassment.  –  Niina Vuolajärvi

Maggie in the Media

Bound By the Cloak is a new-ish podcast whose tagline is, “Candid conversations about the unspoken”.  Episode 6 is entitled “Grande Horizontale”, so you can probably guess who is interviewed in it.  Give it a listen; I think you’ll enjoy it even if you’ve heard me talk about these topics before.

Sales Pitch

If the Swedish model is so successful, why are they threatening to increase the penalties?

The European Sex Worker Alliance (ESWA) is circulating a petition in solidarity with Swedish sex worker activists fighting a politically motivated attempt to require mandatory jail time for their clients…the…threat…has been Trojan-Horsed into…a series of legal reforms [driven]…by various sex panics fostered by the press…

Smoke and Mirrors

Another of those cases whose reported details don’t add up:

On April 8, a [man] and his teenage daughter were at a Dallas Mavericks basketball game…in Dallas.  Just before halftime, the daughter left her seat to use the restroom.  After she didn’t return, the father went to look for her and notified arena security, staff, and Dallas police of her being missing…lawyer Zeke Fortenberry…[claims] the family repeatedly called Dallas police to help find their daughter…[but] Dallas police…didn’t make any efforts to locate the girl…[so] the family reached out to a [rescueindustry group called] the Texas Counter-Trafficking Initiative…[which claims it] found [her pictures] on a[n escort] website…in Oklahoma City…and…Oklahoma City police…[found her] at an Extended Stay America…on April 18 and several people were arrested…Fortenberry [was quick to point fingers at]…the Dallas Mavericks…the [stadium, and the hotel, using the required “]failed to protect the victim[” language indicating he plans to sue them and]…Dallas police [using the novel legal construction of vicarious liability which has become popular among ambulance-chasers]…

If Men Were Angels

“Pastors” are as bad as cops:

A pastor [named]…John William Lovelace…in Ayden, North Carolina, was charged…with [various crimes of rape and sexual assault, and]…is also facing two counts of statutory [rape of] a child under the age of 15…

Winding Down (#1179)

It’s too bad Washington only supports self-ownership where drugs are concerned, not sex:

Drug-reform advocates, doctors, and politicians have initiated a ballot measure, Initiative 1922, to remove the penalties for possessing drugs of any kind in the state of Washington, including cocaine, heroin, and hallucinogenic mushrooms.  Led by a coalition group called Commit to Change WA, the proposed [measure would also]…dedicat[e] $141 million…each year to substance use treatment and prevention…the funds…would come from cannabis taxes the state is already receiving…Sponsors of the initiative have until July 8 to collect almost 325,000 valid signatures of registered Washington voters to qualify for a spot on the statewide ballot in November…

Creepy Coppers

Your “leaders” apparently also want you to refer to spreading child porn as “correction”:

Tennessee [screw]…Michael Vernon White, has been charged with possession of “hundreds of items” of child porn…[discovered] after an Internet service provider detected and reported multiple uploads of sexual images and videos depicting young girls.  The number associated with the uploads was linked back to White…

The Cop Myth (#1205)

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

An…NYPD [cop named]…Kevin Marcial…was suspended…following…his [attempt to shoot his] girlfriend’s husband [after he saw the latter behind him in traffic]…Marcial turned around and fired a shot at the [husband, but missed]…The outraged husband showed up later at a nearby police station and reported the [attack], as well as Marcial and the love triangle.  Cops at first [refused to] believe him, but the husband gave [them] the…license plate number, which they traced back to Marcial.  A shell casing was also found at the scene…police reached out to Marcial, who, with his lawyer, [later] surrendered…An NYPD spokeswoman s[pun this as] Marcial “self-report[ing]” the shooting…

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Scapegoating Gen Z…belies the enduring hold of sex-negativity on our culture.  –  Asa Seresin

To Molest and Rape

It’s gradually becoming slightly less rare for reporters to describe the actions of rapist cops as rape:

A [typical and representative Kansas cop] is facing over two dozen charges…[for] raping a woman while [wearing his magical clown costume]…Jonathan Gardner…[is mostly being] charged with…official misconduct…[because he stalked potential victims using] Kansas [cop shop computer]…systems…

Disaster (#996)

A timid but possibly important challenge to FOSTA from inside Congress, take 2:

…a few members of Congress are…at least willing to consider the possibility that they messed up in passing FOSTA.  To this end, they’re backing legislation that would further study [its] effects…and of the Justice Department’s shutdown of websites—like Backpage and Rentboy—popular for sex worker advertising.  First introduced in 2019, these measures promptly flopped.  Now, their sponsors—Ro Khanna…Barbara Lee…Elizabeth Warren…and Ron Wyden…are trying again…In the findings section of the bill, the [politicians] explain (with a shocking lack of moral panic) how the government’s war on sex work advertising has caused a number of reported harms, and how FOSTA…increased it…Khanna—one of just 25 House members and two senators who voted against FOSTA—[said that]…he hoped getting more data on FOSTA’s effects would be unobjectionable—and useful for eventual repeal…Techdirt editor Mike Masnick…is skeptical. When it comes to sex trafficking, Congress just “wants to pretend to care about these issues so it can get headlines and go on TV to look serious about how it’s ‘solving’ these problems”…

I’m at least as skeptical as Masnick is, but I was pleasantly surprised to see Ron Wyden actually tweet that “Sex workers deserve equal and full labor protection and dignity under the law.

Disaster (#1151)

They’ve chased this ambulance from Austin to Washington and back:

The [US] Supreme Court declined…to settle a question presented by a[n opportunist and her lawyers] looking to [cash in on a novel theory of] Facebook’s [legal] liability in a case where she [claim]s that she was “sex trafficked as a minor” because the social media platform “[allowed her to communicate with someone she now says was] a sex trafficker.”  The case had already gone all the way up to the Texas Supreme Court, although that tribunal’s decision pointed out the issues with trying to determine Section 230 protections, particularly in a case that also invoked FOSTA-SESTA.  [Though] the Supreme Court denied the request to take up the question…Justice Clarence Thomas added a statement opining that “although the case was not appropriate for court review, Congress should revisit the scope of Section 230”…

I Spy (#1166)

It looks as though at least one court is attempting to grow a spine:

[So-called “geofence”] warrants reverse the expectations of probable cause by turning everyone in a[n]…area into a suspect before investigators work backwards from the location data to generate a list of most likely suspects…[cops] have used these for years…[but] courts are paying more attention now…cops were investigating shootings at a motel in Fairfax County [Virginia, and]…had no suspects so they asked Google to generate them a list of people who had been in the area at the time of the shooting…[including] identifying data…the court…reject[ed] this warrant…Probable cause is the baseline and geofence warrants don’t even try to approach that constitutional guideline…Law enforcement either needs to do a whole lot better crafting these so-called warrants or, better yet, go back to the basics and start looking for suspects first, rather than trying to blunder their way into them by sifting through tons of unrelated data.

Why I Wait (#1177)

Somebody whose name isn’t Maggie McNeill is actually applying critical thought to this claim:

…a widely-held belief [holds] that…Gen Z, like the porn-sceptic feminists of the 70s and 80s, is a sex-negative generation.  Evidence routinely cited to support this belief includes the so-called “sex recession”…and the annual intergenerational battles over kink at Pride.  The idea that young people are abstaining from sex has even crystalised into a neologism: the Puriteen…young people who profess to avoid sex [do so] for a number of reasons: because they find it “objectifying”, “dangerous”, “uncomfortable”, “fucked up and scary”; because they are “exceptionally concerned with trauma and consent”; because casual sex makes them feel “used”…such statements have a political history…that risks falling from view when sex-negativity is treated as if Gen Z invented it.  By invoking objectification, instrumentalization, trauma, and consent, these young people – consciously or not – are using terms handed down to them by feminism…While it might seem like a paradox that [even] some young queers are expressing sex-negative views, the historical legacy of lesbian feminism proves that it isn’t paradoxical at all…

The Cop Myth (#1178)

Another cost of America’s sick worship of state-sanctioned violence:

…more than 7,600 [cops’ violent incompetence]…has more than once led to payouts to resolve lawsuits…[the] Washington Post…collected data on nearly 40,000 payments at 25 of the nation’s largest [cop shops] within the past decade, documenting more than $3.2 billion spent to settle claims…The total amounts further confirm the broad costs associated with police misconduct, as reported last year by FiveThirtyEight and the Marshall Project…more than 1,200 off[enders]…had been the subject of at least five payments.  More than 200 had 10 or more.  The repetition is the hidden cost of [police] misconduct: [cops] whose conduct was at issue in more than one payment accounted for more than $1.5 billion, or nearly half of the money spent by the departments to [sweep reports under the rug]…

To Molest and Rape (#1209)

Another specimen of the garbage the state pays to violate kids:

A [cop paid by the state to stalk, harass, and spy on students] at Auburn High School [in New York molested]…a student…William T. Morrissey, III has been charged with first-degree sexual abuse, official misconduct and endangering the welfare of a child…Auburn [politicians found out about the molestation via]…an anonymous written complaint in the mail…

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I didn’t know anything about building careers. Somehow I still have a career.  –  Sally Kellerman

If you don’t know the name, enjoy this video of the first percussion-driven #1 hit in Billboard history.  The links above it were provided by Jason Kuznicki; Yasmin Nair; Clarissa; Mike SiegelJesse Walker; and Cop Crisis (x2), in that order.

From the Archives

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