I can’t breathe | The Honest Courtesan

Posts Tagged ‘I can’t breathe’

In the News (#1583)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Tyranny, tagged Alabama, Aladdin’s Satellite, artificial stupidity, cell phones, censorship, cops, Creepy Coppers, Dangerous Speech, domestic violence, fantasy, hysteria, I can't breathe, illegal aliens, Kansas, Mad Libs, Never Call the Cops, porn, prisons, robots, Secret Squirrel, Texas, The Cop Myth, The Punitive Mindset, The Pygmalion Fallacy, Torture Chamber, Washington (state) on October 22, 2025| 2 Comments »

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

The Pygmalion Fallacy (#1310)

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

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

The Punitive Mindset (#1426)

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

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

Dangerous Speech (#1465)

Much more of this, please:

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

Creepy Coppers (#1550)

Just another kind of cop, with typical cop behavior:

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

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

Torture Chamber (#1554)

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

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

Aladdin’s Satellite (#1575)

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

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

The Cop Myth (#1581)

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

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

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

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In the News (#1575)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Tyranny, tagged A Broker in Pillage, A Moral Cancer, Aladdin’s Satellite, artificial stupidity, asset seizure, Brazil, censorship, consensual crime, cops, crypto-moralism, Droit du Seigneur, drugs, ethics, fascism, Georgia, I can't breathe, internet, Michigan, Never Call the Cops, New York, Pennsylvania, Perquisites, pimps, psychology, Stop faking!, stripping, surveillance, underage, Virginia, Walled Garden, Washington DC on September 24, 2025| Leave a Comment »

So-called “quality of life” policing is…literally costing lives. – Meghna Philip

Perquisites

Are amateurs really so sheltered that this sort of thing shocks them?

Top executives of [RCI Hospitality Holdings, the] company that owns [Rick’s Cabaret and other] strip clubs across the [US,] sent a New York state auditor on at least 13 free trips to Florida, lavishing him with lap dances in Miami…In exchange for the favors, RCI settled audits for less than it owed, in total avoiding $8 million in taxes…[now an] indictment…[has] charged six men — five executives and the auditor — and three RCI-owned strip clubs in Manhattan with 79 crimes between 2010 and 2024…the executives falsified business records to conceal the bribes, recording cash payments to the auditor as promotional expenses for the clubs…

Droit du Seigneur (#350)

Prosecutors dragged their feet so much, it took 13 years for this to get from accusation to plea bargain:

[Typical and representative Washington DC cop] Linwood Barnhill…[has] pleaded guilty…to sex trafficking a minor…Barnhill…[pimp]ed minor girls…[making] over $10,000…from one of…his victims…Barnhill…is already a registered sex offender…[he was first accused in the current case in September 2012 and rewarded with a paid vacation, but nothing else was done until he was actually caught on December 3, 2013, with a teen girl who had been reported missing]…

I Can’t Breathe (#1439)

Due to the complicity of medical examiners, it’s impossible to know how many of these were murders:

Deaths in NYPD custody have surged to levels not seen in at least a decade, with 40 people dying in 2023 and 2024 combined — roughly double the toll of any two-year period since at least 2016…One of those deaths was…Christopher Nieves, who collapsed repeatedly inside a Brooklyn courthouse holding cell last month after being arrested for allegedly shoplifting food. His Legal Aid attorney frantically pleaded with [cops] to take him to a hospital as his skin yellowed and his body gave out[, but the cops just yelled “Stop faking!’ at him repeatedly until] he collapsed and died a few hours later…two [of the deaths, those of Saniyah Cheatham in July and Musa Cetin in August, were claimed to be] suicides [bu]t…families and advocates [have questioned] that…one…case…where the police claimed no force was used was the [death] of…Samuel Williams…but [in reality cops intentionally]…veered [their pigmobile] into his lane [on a narrow bridge so]…Williams’ [motorcycle would] collide with [it]…and go soaring through the air…Williams died from those injuries the following day…

A Moral Cancer (#1497)

Prohibitionists always claim surprise when the predicted effects of one of their bans appear:

In 2023, New York [state] raised its cigarette excise tax…to $5.35 per pack. New York City imposes its own tax of $1.50 per pack, and that’s before you include federal and sales taxes, making for the most expensive smokes in the country…at…about $12 [a pack. Prohibitionists]…hailed the increase, [pretend]ing it [would] lead to fewer smokers…[but in reality] “New York has created a cigarette-smuggling empire, and the worst is yet to come,” [said economist] Todd Nesbit…even before the…hike, more than half of cigarettes sold in the state of New York lacked local tax stamps and were smuggled from elsewhere…[but a new] study found that in 2024, the percentage of littered packs bearing the proper NYC tax stamp declined to 16.6%. Georgia [taxed at 37¢/pack] surpassed Virginia [taxed at 60¢/pack] as the primary source of littered cigarettes…only about one cigarette pack of every six gathered by the research team in New York City passed through legal channels…[and many] bypassed the legal and taxed supply chain [entirely, bearing no tax stamp at all]…

A Broker in Pillage (#1559)

What would you call a gang who conspired to rob an old woman with dementia?

…a 91-year-old Pennsylvania woman has lost her home—and all of its worth—over a small tax debt…In 2020, Gloria Gaynor (not the disco queen) forewent her yearly trip to the tax office during COVID-19…Gaynor’s faculties noticeably declined around then…[she] returned in 2021 to pay her property taxes…under the impression that…the government would apply her money toward the previous year. Instead, it went to 2021, and her…$3,500 bill ultimately reached $14,419 with penalties, interest, and fees. The government sold that debt to a real estate firm, the CJD Group, which then [legally stole] the deed to the home…a…2023 Supreme Court case…ruled home equity theft illegal…But…governments are getting around it…by selling properties for the value of the debt—instead of putting it on the market or selling it at auction—so…the…excess equity [goes] to…a private company…CJD Group…has acquired 62 deeds from [just that one] county…since 2011 and…the issue…isn’t limited to Pennsylvania…

Aladdin’s Satellite (#1570)

These people are so drunk on their own Kool-aid they can’t see the problem with letting a defective algorithm act as its own gatekeeper:

OpenAI has announced it is introducing new safety measures for ChatGPT after [it caused] a wave of…teen suicide[s]…ChatGPT will now attempt to guess a user’s age, and in some cases might require users to share an ID…OpenAI [has been] sued by the parents of Adam Raine, who died by suicide in April…ChatGPT helped him write…his suicide note, suggested improvements on his methods, ignored early attempts and self-harm, and urged him not to talk to adults…In August…a 56-year-old man…committed a murder-suicide…after ChatGPT indulged his paranoia…[and] another lawsuit…[was filed by the parents of] a 13-year-old girl…[who was encouraged by a fictional-character chatbot to hide her] suicid[al ideation from friends and family]…ChatGPT will now also apply different rules to…[people it guesses] are…under…18 [by calling the cops on them if they seem] suicidal…

Walled Garden (#1573)

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

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva…signed into law new rules [demanding surveillance of all Brazilians who] use…social media, online video games and other digital services…[without a VPN, under the typical cl]aim of [“]protecting children[“]…“Freedom of expression is…an excuse for committing crimes in the digital world,” he said…

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In the News (#1572)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged artificial stupidity, Cashing In On Shame, censorship, China, cops, domestic violence, Eavesdropping, I can't breathe, If Men Were Angels, internet, Massachusetts, New York, porn, propaganda, scams, shame, surveillance, Texas, Under Duress, Utah, Welcome to the Future, When Ambulance-Chasers Run the Hospitals, Wisconsin on September 13, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Help me, I can’t breathe. – Francis Gigliotti

If Men Were Angels

On Aug. 28, New York State Police arrested [a Methodist minister named] Ronald E. Wenzinger…for [talking online to a cop fantasy role-playing as a teenager]…

Cashing In On Shame

What was once pure fraud can now be accomplished in reality:

…one specimen of widely available spyware has turned [w]hat [used to be a scam] into a…[serious crime by] detecting when the user is browsing pornography…screenshotting it, and taking a candid photo of the victim through their webcam…an open-source variant of “infostealer” malware known as Stealerium…like all infostealers, is designed to infect a target’s computer and automatically send a hacker a wide variety of stolen sensitive data, including banking information, usernames and passwords, and keys to victims’ crypto wallets. Stealerium, however…also monitors the victim’s browser for web addresses that include certain NSFW keywords, screenshots browser tabs that include those words, photographs the victim via their webcam while they’re watching those porn pages, and sends all the images to a hacker—who can then blackmail the victim…cybercriminals attempt…to trick users into downloading and installing Stealerium as an attachment or a web link, luring victims with typical bait like a fake payment or invoice…

Welcome to the Future (#1440)

Oh what a surprise, how could anyone have predicted this, etc:

…Axon[‘s]…Draft One…[is a program] that [is supposed to] turn [cop] body camera footage and audio into intelligible police reports…civil rights advocacy groups like the [EFF] and ACLU…[have pointed out that LLM’s] tendency to insert inaccuracies into texts—including wholesale inventions known by technologists as “hallucinations”…[make such systems unreliable and dangerous]. Axon [claims] its…safeguards…[are] designed to ensure [cop]…actually read…the…reports rather than rubber-stamping them. But records obtained by Mother Jones through [FOI] laws almost uniformly show [cop shops] that use the software turn…such features off….[to] reduce…or eliminate…human oversight…reports generated by the…tool…have [certainly] been used in plea deals…essentially [telling] lie[s]…to the court that can’t be easily revealed…

I Can’t Breathe (#1447)

Dare I hope fewer coroners are willing to cover up cops’ crimes?

The death of a Massachusetts man this summer outside a fish market was attributed [in part] to…police…The July 11 death of Francis Gigliotti was deemed…a…homicide [by]…the medical examiner…[but] District Attorney Paul F. Tucker…is…[trying to justify the cops’] actions [anyhow]…Seven [cops]…were [rewarded with paid vacations for the murder of a man who]…was [intentionally] restrained…face down…[even though the DoJ]…has warned [cops] for decades to roll [prisoners] off their stomachs as soon as they are handcuffed because of the danger of positional asphyxia…

When Ambulance-Chasers Run the Hospitals (#1456)

Ambulance-chasers have given themselves the power to rob internet companies:

…the Federal Trade Commission…is proposing that Aylo, [owner of] Pornhub and other popular porn…platforms, be ordered to pay the state of Utah $5 million…[due to supposedly] violating…Utah’s Consumer Sales Practices Act by failing to stop Pornhub users from uploading [porn] the [state has demonized]…In its complaint, the FTC spends a lot of space listing Pornhub tags and titles such as “helpless teens,” “internet creeper,” “shower spy cameras,” and “shamed sluts”…No one let FTC workers visit the Netflix homepage. We’ll soon have an investigation into how Netflix is promoting murder and corporate espionage and witchcraft…Porn, like other types of entertainment media, often relies on fictional characters and scenarios…some of the content users uploaded to Pornhub may have actually been illegal…[but] Pornhub…tightened up its content rules…in 2020…And most of the things that the FTC objects to are policies [from] before 2020…[also,] distributing child pornography is a crime. If a web platform is knowingly distributing child pornography, the proper recourse is for the Department of Justice to bring a criminal case…

The Cop Myth (#1461)

Cop violence is never limited to adults:

[A] Texas [cop named] Micah Smyth [was turned in by his wife for inflicting multiple injuries on their small child. Smyth]…claimed to have accidentally dropped the child while a[bus]ing his other child in the bathroom…the…injuries [were so severe] the child [had to be] taken to [specialists at a] Children’s Hospital in Lubbock…who…found…a fractured skull with a brain bleed, bruises on his back and a healing rib fracture…that [could not be] solely based on an accidental drop…Smyth…was arrested and charged with…child [abuse both] in this case…[and] an additional…charge from 2022 [which his cop buddies previously ignored, thus allowing three more years of abuse]…

If the victims are young enough, there may even be consequences:

A [typical and representative] Milwaukee [cop] is heading to prison…[for] abus[ing] his infant daughter…Martinese McDaniel…[was left with the child by his] girlfriend[, who] came home one day in January 2023 to find the…two-month old…wasn’t breathing and McDaniel…[shaking] her…in a panic. A pediatrician diagnosed the infant with brain bleeding, hemorrhaging, rib fractures, bruises and other injuries consistent with abuse. McDaniel gave investigators surveillance video of his home…with one hour of the video [conveniently] missing during the time that his daughter stopped breathing…

Eavesdropping (#1501)

Just a reminder that these hackers exploited vulnerabilities intentionally placed into systems to allow “authorized” busybodies to spy on you:

[The full extent of last year’s massive]…attack by [the Chinese government’s] Salt Typhoon [hacking team] is [finally becoming clear]…It targeted more than 80 countries and may have stolen information from nearly every American…[by] exploit[ing vulnerabilities intentionally inserted into] global communication networks [to allow cops easy wiretap access]…British and American officials have described the attack as “unrestrained” and “indiscriminate.” Canada, Finland, Germany, Italy, Japan and Spain were also signatories to the statement, which was part of a [childish “We see you!” strategy] directed at the Chinese government…The…hack…highlights China’s ambitions for global [domina]nce, which were [recently] on display…at an elaborate military parade in Beijing that featured fighter jets, tanks and thousands of troops marching across Tiananmen Square…

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Links #754

Posted in Current Events, History, Links, Miscellaneous, Music, Obituary, Tyranny, tagged Antarctica, California, cops, holidays, I can't breathe, Indiana, language, Mexico, Never Call the Cops, New York, racism, teachers, video on December 15, 2024| Leave a Comment »

I can’t breathe. – Herman Whitfield III

Given the season, I decided this was the best choice as a sendoff for beloved children’s singer Ella Jenkins. The links above the video were provided by Phoenix Calida, Yasmin Nair, Alex Vitale, T. Greg Doucette, Michael Peters, and Jesse Walker, in that order.

From the Archives

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In the News (#1480)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged advertising, blogging, censorship, cops, disease, domestic violence, Enablers, I can't breathe, Illinois, internet, law, libraries, Pennsylvania, politicians, prisons, sex toys, Stop faking!, teachers, Texas, The Cop Myth, The Last Shall Be First, Thought Control, Torture Chamber, transgender, Utah, You Were Warned on October 12, 2024| Leave a Comment »

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

The Last Shall Be First (#1242)

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

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

Thought Control (#1391)

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

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

You Were Warned (#1439)

Politicians keep openly trying to destroy the internet:

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

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

Thought Control (#1462)

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

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

Torture Chamber (#1462)

Your “leaders” call this “correction”:

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

The Cop Myth (#1475)

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

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

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

Paying the Bills

Two weeks ago, I told y’all that I’m facing a projected $3000 shortfall for my annual operating budget, and asked for help making up that difference. Well, several of my loyal readers have already stepped up, generously helping me to the tune of $700. So now I’m only facing a $2300 shortfall; if you aren’t yet a subscriber, won’t you please consider becoming one? A $1/day subscription would take $90 off of that total, and other levels would help in proportion. Or if you’re already a subscriber but can spare some extra right now, I’d really appreciate it; it would be great if I can catch up by my birthday!

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Links #743

Posted in Current Events, Links, Miscellaneous, Music, Obituary, Tyranny, tagged animals, cops, I can't breathe, Indiana, libraries, Never Call the Cops, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Portugal, video, Wyoming on September 29, 2024| Leave a Comment »

I can’t breathe! Help me! – Rhyker Earl

In keeping with my long-standing tradition of sharing my earworms with my readers, I present this classic MTV video from back when videos were fun. The links above it were provided by Jesse Walker, Mike Siegel, Nun Ya, T. Greg Doucette, IncarcerNation (x2), and C.J. Ciaramella, in that order.

From the Archives

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In the News (#1455)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged California, censorship, cops, homosexuality, I can't breathe, If Men Were Angels, internet, Ireland, law, Never Call the Cops, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Panopticon, politicians, porn, prisons, rape, Shame Shame, Stalkers in Blue, surveillance, teachers, The Puritan Recrudescence, To Molest and Rape, Torture Chamber, Virginia on July 17, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Help us, we can’t breathe. – Elizabeth Nomura

Shame, Shame (#516)

Some of y’all may recall that when all the “police reform” types started touting body cameras as the solution to surging police brutality, I was skeptical:

McNeill points out that the camera records the public, not the officer. She adds, “As long as the cops have the power to turn the cameras off or decide whether footage is released, it’s difficult to see what is to be accomplished here.”

That was February of 2015, and over 9 years later civil rights lawyer Alec Karakatsanis has published a law journal article demonstrating that, as usual, I was correct: the cops wanted the cameras as a surveillance tool, and useful idiots who imagine violent thugs can be “reformed” obligingly gave them exactly what they wanted:

By situating the rise of the police body camera within its actual legal, political, and economic contexts, I suggest that the body camera is one of the most important Trojan horses in contemporary U.S. history. What follows is a case study of how the police bureaucracy used its own violence as the perfect alibi to get well-meaning people who lacked sufficient information to support greater police procurement budgets, more advanced and efficient technologies of control and incarceration, an explosion of profit for a small group of companies, and an expansion of the capacity of the government to surveil us. And most remarkably: All of it happened under the guise of making the police bureaucracy more “accountable” and “transparent”…

To Molest and Rape

Cops are a menace to women of all ages:

An Orange County woman [has] filed a federal lawsuit…against an Anaheim [cop who]…raped her after seeing her at an In-N-Out Burger and getting her name by running her license plate number…[typical and representative cop] Carlos Romero [was rewarded by] the city of Anaheim…[with a] paid [vacation for raping her] in 2023 after [she reported his stalking, harassing]…and [threatening her until he got tired of her refusing him]…sex…and [raped]…her [vaginally and orally despite her]…repeatedly t[elling] him “no”…His gun was…in full view [and]…she “was terrified and fearful for her life” and just wanted Romero to leave…

Panopticon (#1308)

“Safety” has become the #1 excuse for Orwellian levels of surveillance:

North Carolina [politician] Michele Morrow has made [a fetish of subjecting students to police-state measures that her own children would not have to endure, since she]…home-school[s them. Like many authoritarians, she is obsessed with incredibly-exaggerated fears of] pedophiles and…gun violence [which she wants to use as an excuse to give dangerous thugs even more power to harass, spy on, persecute, and molest students. Paradoxically, she wants to give these pervert thugs access to]…video surveillance in classrooms, hallways and bathrooms…

Torture Chamber (#1371)

Americans’ sick lust for torture turns ordinary prison sentences into death sentences:

A…[woman locked up in] California’s largest women’s prison [at Chowchilla] has died amid a brutal heatwave that has left residents without air conditioning begging for relief…temperatures in the region climbed above 110F (43.3C)…[but mouthpieces for the State pretend that had nothing to do with her] death…There have been reports of potentially fatal conditions inside jails and prisons during heatwaves across California and in Nevada, Illinois, Texas, Florida and other states this year. The Chowchilla fatality has escalated fear and panic throughout the…overcrowded [dungeon, in] which…more than 2,000 people [are locked in cages without] air conditioning…[while screws refuse] to provide enough cold water and other supplies that would alleviate their suffering and reduce heatstroke risks…[many prisoners are] struggling with nausea and headaches…[while officials refuse to maintain or repair] swamp coolers meant to lower temperatures…[for] prison[ers]…locked in these death chambers [while bureaucrats deny the crisis and pretend their facilities are humane]…

The Puritan Recrudescence (#1423)

The currently-fashionable “monkey see, monkey do” parade has escaped the US and is careening all over Europe:

The Senate of the Republic of Ireland…[will] debate the country’s proposed…[“monkey see, monkey do”] Online Age Verification…Bill…[whose] sponsor…hailed as a victory the fact that the…imprecise language…[of the US laws his bill apes] has already had a chilling effect on free speech, [namely] “porn suppliers such as Pornhub to cease providing services [to people who don’t know what VPNs are]” in those states…The bill makes platforms and app stores liable for any failure to implement [government-mandated surveillance, and they are specifically required]…to store the…data they collect [at their own expense] for five years, and [make it available for pigs to root through at will]…

To Molest and Rape (ROTW #11)

I just can’t feel sorry for cops sexually abused by other cops:

A [Virginia cop named Michael Rusk] is suing his former department and local…[politicians] for $5 million for…sexual harassment a[fter]…he…shot and severely injured his superior…Christopher Gibson [for sexually assaulting him]…police leadership not only knew about the continued harassment but purposefully disregarded it because Rusk is a man…[for years] Gibson made…sexual advances toward [Rusk] including hand-holding, touching, slapping, stalking, and grooming…the[n]…in January 2023, after a night of drinking…Gibson…sexually assault[ed] Rusk…and…Rusk…[responded by shooting] Gibson several times before calling 911…

If Men Were Angels (#1449)

If I followed up on every rapist cop or preacher, I wouldn’t have room for anything else. But sometimes I have to make an exception:

In 1982, [21-year old married] pastor Robert Morris…[seduced and molested 12-year-old] Cindy Clemishire…while he was staying at her parents’ home in Oklahoma…But 25 years later, when Clemishire hired an attorney and threatened to sue Morris…hi[s]…lawyer…responded by blaming Clemishire for what happened to her…The Feb. 6, 2007, letter was one in a series of exchanges that year between Sharpe and [Clemishire’s lawyer] Gentner Drummond…Clemishire…had been seeking $50,000 in restitution from Morris to cover the cost of counseling. Morris…offered to pay $25,000, but the talks fell apart…because [Clemishire] was not willing to sign a nondisclosure agreement…

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Fridaystein

Posted in Biography, Miscellaneous, Perception, Philosophy, Tyranny, tagged blogging, cops, I can't breathe, Little Boxes, Madonna/whore, New York, politicians, prohibitionist myths, propaganda, psychology, sex work is work, tits, video on June 21, 2024| Leave a Comment »

“I’ve never done that before” is an argument for trying something rather than an argument against it. – “Green Eggs and Ham”

I’m not sure what’s stupider, the idea that there could ever be such a thing as a visible-tit emergency, or the one that a gland specifically activated during motherhood is somehow anti-family.
– “Little Boxes (#748)”

People who define sex work as the selling of a body, or who say sex isn’t work, are telling you a lot about their own sex lives. – “Starfish”

Please, keep telling me how society can’t survive without roving gangs of deranged thugs wandering around looking for excuses to summarily execute people who pose no danger to anyone. – “I Can’t Breathe”

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In the News (#1447)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Tyranny, tagged Argentina, California, censorship, cops, Florida, I can't breathe, Imaginary Evils, Indiana, internet, law, libraries, Michigan, New Jersey, politicians, porn, prisons, propaganda, Pyrrhic Victory, racism, rape, surveillance, Texas, The Puritan Recrudescence, Thought Control, To Molest and Rape, Torture Chamber on June 19, 2024| Leave a Comment »

This is a case of human trafficking without victims. – Jorge Daniel Pirozzo

Torture Chamber

“Died after an altercation” is such a sterile way to say “murdered by screws”:

The family of a Texas man [murdered by] jailers…who…kne[lt on his]…back [while pepper-spraying him]…called for a federal investigation into the practices at the jail. Anthony Johnson Jr…a [retired] Marine…[was intentionally asphyxiated by the] jailers…[after they oinked the magic word “]contraband[” at him]. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner…ruled the death a homicide…[murder]er Rafael Moreno…kne[lt with all of his weight] on Johnson’s back…while he was handcuffed…[and another screw repeatedly] pepper-sprayed [him in the face]…

Links #725

Posted in Current Events, Links, Miscellaneous, Music, Obituary, Tyranny, tagged Algeria, cops, dehumanization, I can't breathe, lawheads, Maryland, New Mexico, New York, politicians, prisons, Texas, Things We Choose To Do Together, video, weaponry on May 26, 2024| Leave a Comment »

I can’t breathe. – Anthony Johnson Jr.

I remember this song from The Doctor Demento Show in the late ’70s, and recently thought about it again; if it sticks in your brain for almost half a century as it did to me, my work here is done. The links above the video were provided by Mike Siegel, Jesse Walker, Scott Hechinger, Billy Binion, IncarcerNation, Walter Olson, and Brooke Magnanti, in that order.

From the Archives

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Posts Tagged ‘I can’t breathe’

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A Few References

Boring but necessary legal stuff