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Posts Tagged ‘I Spy’

In the News (#1604)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Philosophy, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 14, 2026| Leave a Comment »

It’s Soviet-style education.  –  Martin Peterson

Thought Control (#1480)

The ghost of Kurt Vonnegut vs. Utah censors:

On behalf of the Kurt Vonnegut Estate, authors Elana K. Arnold, Ellen Hopkins, and Amy Reed, and two anonymous high school student[s] with the ACLU of Utah filed a complaint on January 6 to challenge…the…[state book banning] law…which [allows any politician or other busybody to ban any book statewide merely by pointing at it and barfing the formula]…“harmful to minors” [into the face of anyone who wants to read the book]…Slaughterhouse-Five…remains [high] on the [ALA]…list of most-banned classics, decades after its 1969 publication…and…Nanette Vonnegut, the late author’s daughter, [said]…“Utah’s…determination to ban books like Slaughterhouse-Five…is antithetical to what my father fought for during World War II”…

Crippling Thought (#1513)

Surely you didn’t think they’d stop with libraries and primary schools?

Martin Peterson, a philosophy professor at Texas A&M…[has been] told…that he needed to [censor]…Plato from his syllabus…[to] comply with new policies [demanding political control of all education]…the A&M system [is rushing to obey moral illiterates]…Course sections are being canceled or potentially reclassified, threatening students’ schedules.  And professors are…losing [tenure and with it] academic freedom…“A philosophy professor who is not allowed to teach Plato?” Dr. Peterson said…“Is that really what they want?”…

One would think Texas politicians would be fans of a philosopher who taught that there are “inferior” people who are only fit to be slaves.

Mad Libs (#1554)

It’s not really a doctor, it just plays one in the fantasies of tech cultists:

…[Open]AI’s [latest irresponsible advertising claim is that its chatbot can be] a “healthcare ally”…ChatGPT Health is…designed for users to ask their health-related questions in what it [pretend]s [i]s a more secure…environment…and…is [irresponsibly] encouraging [its naive] users to connect their personal medical records and [health surveillance] apps…[it even claims] that ChatGPT can analyze lab results…the [disclaimer fine print claims] that ChatGPT Health is “not intended for diagnosis or treatment,” but it [knows] full…[well that’s exactly] how people [will] us[e it]…In August, physicians published a report…of a man being hospitalized for weeks with an 18th-century medical condition after taking ChatGPT’s…dangerous health advice[, and other chatbots cause similar harm]…

I Spy (#1579)

In mass surveillance, fascism beats communism hands down:

A social media and phone surveillance system ICE bought access to is designed to monitor a city neighborhood or block for mobile phones, track the movements of those devices and their owners over time, and follow them from their places of work to home or other locations…the…data…is…acquired from hundreds of millions of phones via a company called Penlink, [and] can be queried without a warrant…the technology…consist[s] of two Penlink products called Tangles and Webloc…Users can perform a single perimeter analysis to search a specific area for mobile phones across a certain time period…then select…[any] particular phone, and, by extension, its owner…seeing where else it has travelled both locally and across the country…

Micromanagement (#1589)

It only starts with people the state wants you to hate and distrust:

…the Department of [Father]land Security…[wants] its [goon]s to gather and store more biometric data [including DNA] on anybody associated with applications for “benefits” including family visas, Permanent Resident (green) Cards, and work permits…[for] “identity management”…the new rule would affect not just immigrants but “U.S. citizens, nationals, and lawful permanent residents, regardless of age”…Institute for Justice…attorney Tahmineh Dehbozorgi [writes]…”this…is creating a vast genetic dragnet that endangers the Fourth Amendment rights of everyone, all without Congress’ approval”…

The Vultures Descend (#1602)

When a prosecutor can’t destroy a life through legal means, they use the complicit media instead:

[When] Kentucky police arrested a woman [for taking] abortion pills…and bur[ying] fetal remains in her backyard…prosecutors [knew they didn’t have a “]fetal homicide[” case, so]…police [simply lied, claiming]…she buried “a developed male infant”…[so] local news outlets…[would run] with the story, splashing the woman’s name and mugshot across the internet…[for] national outlets…[to] pick…up…the state’s attorney [has already] filed to dismiss the fetal homicide charge, [leaving] only [harassment]…charges…[such as] tampering with physical evidence…and…concealing the birth of an infant…so…Whatever the outcome of the case…a woman sits in jail, and Google results for her name may always pull her mugshot and references to a supposed capital crime…

Shame, Shame (#1602)

MechaHitler is the most antisocial chatbot, and it’s not even close:

[MechaHitler] is generating nonconsensual pornographic images of women with their clothes removed and wearing bikinis with swastikas on them…including [legal] minors…Several targets are Jewish, including…Holocaust survivor[s]…Other requests add additional neo-Nazi content such as “put her in a swastika bikini and [a MAGA hat]”…

 

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 (#1599)

Posted in Current Events, History, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on December 20, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Brothels yes very well, but it must be an option, not an obligation.  –  Edouard Hesse

Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (#522)

This is vile even by the abysmal standards of cops:

A…[lying British pig] deceived two women at the same time over many years in a sustained betrayal of both of them…Mark Jenner had a relationship [built on lies] with a[n anti-corruption] activist, known as Alison, for five years without disclosing to her that he was in reality a…[cop] who was spying on p[eacefu]l campaigners.  During those years, he was married, with his wife knowing nothing about his relationship with Alison…She became the first wife of [one of the lying pigs in Jenner’s gang] to testify at the inquiry…The woman, known only as S, who has now divorced Jenner, said she was “sickened” by the [ringleader]ers of the [gang] who permitted the deception to happen and treated her badly.  She told the inquiry she had willingly taken on the extra burden of childcare and housework to support her then husband while he was [deceiving and raping other women], as his [ringleader]ers [lied to] her he was doing important…work for the country…

Confined and Controlled (#919)

Politicians who push brothels don’t want to help sex workers, but to control us:

France’s…[authoritarian] National Rally [party] is preparing to introduce legislation to bring back legal brothels…as sex-worker-run cooperatives…[politician Jean-Philippe] Tanguy…said he’s come to believe that the current legal framework, [the Swedish model], does not actually make life better or safer for sex workers, since it drives the industry underground…He called the system “the height of bourgeois hypocrisy”…France…officially ended its legal brothel system back in 1946 [as part of an overreaction to its humiliation at the hands of the Nazis]…A move to decriminalize clients and allow sex workers to work together would be a step in the right direction for sex worker rights and safety.  But any plan that allows this exclusively in brothels would still perpetuate many of the harms of criminalization…

Unchristian Nation (#1498)

Government at every level crusades against Christian charity:

Phoenix [politicians want to] ban…people from providing medical treatment…to the homeless at city parks…unless they [buy an expensive permit from] the city…The…[proposed law is intended to increase disease among the homeless by banning] distribut[ion of] sterile [needles and] syringes and…to [steal] $2,500 [from any group that engages in such charity, but will also criminalize]…heat-relief care during the summers.  That includes electrolyte sodium, blankets to prevent thermal burns, sunscreen, hats and umbrellas…

The Prudish Giant (#1509) 

Why does anyone still trust Facebook?

[Facebook] has removed or restricted dozens of accounts belonging to abortion access providers, queer groups and reproductive health organisations in the past weeks in…one of the “biggest waves of censorship”…in years…Facebook [properties] Instagram and WhatsApp…[were also censored, silenc]ing tens of thousands of people…in what appears to be a growing [Trumpist alignment]…Many of these were from Europe and the UK…[but] groups serving women in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East [were also attacked.  Facebook absurdly]…denied [that its censorship is]…censorship…[even though] it blocked abortion hotlines in countries where abortion is legal…[as usual, the company is] condescending and unresponsive [to complaints]…

I Spy (#1538)

The erosion of US air travelers’ rights which started with TSA is now complete:

…[Several times a week, TSA creates] a list…of travelers who will be coming through airports.  ICE can then match the list against its own database of people [it has declared] subject to deportation and send [goons] to the airport to [abduct] those people…the collaboration…led to the [abduction] of Any Lucía López Belloza…[from] Boston Logan Airport on Nov. 20 and [her subsequent] deport[ation] to Honduras…[the scheme] is the latest way the Trump [regime] is [building a giant]…federal [database] in service of the [mad emperor]’s goal of [establishing] the [most oppressive regime] in U.S. history…[ICE] activities at airports [are also intended to terrorize the population in general] and [will cause still] longer passenger wait times…

Above the Law (ROTW #22)

Federal thugs behave just like state & local thugs:

…a…Border P[atrol goon named]…Luis Uribe…[went on a] rampa[ge against Chinese]…sex workers [in Chicago in 2022, raping]…and robb[ing at least]…four…women [at gunpoint.  All Border Patrol goons are] a danger to the community…[but] Uribe [is]…the “worst of the worst”…and [stalked his victims to violently rape them on multiple occasions.  He has been indicted by a grand jury and faces potential life in prison]…

Shame, Shame (#1591)

Any true Christian would recognize this as blasphemy:

[Several] large [Post-Christian] churches…[promoted] a wave of [computer]-generated [slop] that flooded social media in the wake of [Trumpist bigot Charlie] Kirk’s killing…Many [of the slop videos] featured [pseudo-]religious themes, a byproduct of Kirk’s own [decision to increasingly exploit Post-]Christianity near the end of his life.  Imagining Kirk in [a childish, Bronze-Age notion of] heaven was a common theme…as [was depicting a cartoon of] Kirk [alongside cartoons of] historical Christian martyrs and saints…and…assassinated [US political figures including]…the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr[, whom]…Kirk [had repeatedly attacked]…in [real life.  But the slop went from merely vile to fully blasphemous with cartoons of]…Kirk with Jesus Christ…[wearing a MAGA] hat…

 

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 (#1597)

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

The government’s…theory of coercion was that these women remained…because they feared they would be asked to leave.  –  Jennifer Bonjean

The More the Better (#135)

Sheri’s Ranch has been marketing itself to couples for at least 13 years:

The [new] “Couples Getaway Experience” from Sheri’s Ranch…offers transportation from Vegas, dinner and champagne at the resort restaurant, a “meet and greet” for couples to browse the ladies, and a $6,000 deposit…[toward] services…the 20-acre resort in Pahrump, NV, has a pool, bar, restaurant, and tennis courts…The number of customers who check in as a pair has increased year by year, and [Sheri’s claims] at least two out of every ten inquiries [now] come from partnered couples…

Since it is illegal for Nevada brothels to advertise, owners often invent “news” stories to get free advertising from yellow journalists eager to capitalize on titillation.

If Men Were Angels (#1460)

The problem isn’t Catholicism, Christianity, or even religion; it’s teaching kids to blindly submit to authority:

For generations, the Royal Rangers have been a rite of passage for millions of boys nationwide in the Assemblies of God, the world’s largest Pentecostal denomination.  The program…[claims] to mold them into Christlike men through Bible study and backpacking.  But the Royal Rangers have also shattered childhoods, a danger the organization’s national leaders have known about for decades…At least 29 Royal Rangers leaders have…sexually abus[ed] boys [since the program was founded in 1962]…Like other scouting programs, the Royal Rangers have attracted serial predators whose full victim counts may never be known…In several instances, church officials allowed men convicted of molesting boys to lead Royal Rangers troops, enabling them to harm again…[and pressured victims] into silence…

Imaginary Evils (#1547)

“Acquitted conduct sentencing” is an unconstitutional abomination:

Federal officials are recommending 15- to 20-year prison sentences for…Nicole Daedone and Rachel Cherwitz, based on the [Kafkaesque premise] that they should be punished for crimes they were never charged with nor found guilty of at trial…[they] were found guilty of one count each of conspiracy to commit forced labor…but…prosecutors…want…more than 15 and a half years…for Cherwitz…and…20 years [for Daedone]…based on the idea that the defendants actually committed forced labor, despite the fact that their only conviction was for forced labor conspiracy…[and] the government emphasized to the jury that…it didn’t matter if any forced labor had actually happened…[o]r if alleged victims actually consented…

Shame, Shame (#1573)

Zuckerberg flushed $60 billion down a “virtual” toilet:

[Facebook] is dialing back its metaverse [fantasy] and redirecting resources toward [surveillance] glasses and wearable [gewgaws]…the company…could slash as much as 30% from its metaverse group, an area CEO Mark Zuckerberg has previously [fantasiz]ed as the company’s future…cuts of this magnitude could include layoffs as early as January…Investors appeared to welcome the news, sending…shares up 4%…[thus] signaling relief that the company is scaling back a costly [boondoggle] which has lost more than $60 billion…

I Spy (#1574)

Companies which facilitate government evils are enemies of humanity:

Highly invasive spyware from a consortium led by a former senior Israeli intelligence official…is…being used to target people in multiple countries…the…Intellexa Consortium…[sells] Predator…spyware…[to] Pakistan…and…other countries…to spy on people…Predator works by sending malicious links to a targeted phone or other hardware.  When the victim clicks the link, the spyware infects and provide access to the targeted device, including its encrypted instant messages on applications such as Signal and WhatsApp, as well as stored passwords, emails, contact lists, call logs, microphones, audio recordings, and more…Intellexa has [also] developed “zero-click” capabilities in which devices are infected via malicious advertising…

The Cop Myth (#1585)

Goons are just another kind of cop:

A[n]…ICE…[goon named] Samuel Saxon…is [being held without bond for attempting to strangle his girlfriend]…and…[is] charge[d with]…felonious assault, strangulation and domestic violence…Cincinnati police…have been [called out on Saxon] 22 [times] in [the past] year and a half…the victim is [too scared to testify], but the[re is a] witness [who] is[n’t]…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1588)

This needs to become a socially-acceptable response to glassholes:

…a New York subway rider has accused a woman of breaking his [Facebook spy] glasses…“You’re going to be famous on the internet!” he shouted at her through the window after getting off the train…[she] peered back at him completely unfazed, as if to say that he had it coming…the internet wholeheartedly…celebrat[ed] the woman as a folk hero…perfectly highlighting how the public feels about [these sleazy] gadgets…“Good, people are tired of being filmed by strangers,” one user commented.  “The fact that no one else on the train is defending him is telling,” another wrote…While [there is] a small LED light in the front of its glasses to indicate when it’s recording a video, it can easily be covered by a small piece of tape, making it trivially easy to spy on strangers in public without their knowledge or consent…

 

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 (#1595)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Philosophy, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on December 7, 2025| Leave a Comment »

When societies surrender judgment to technolog[y]…the result isn’t augmented intelligence but simulated learning: a paint-by-numbers approach to thought.  –  Ronald Purser

I Spy (#1551)

“Smart” devices aren’t, part umpteen:

Oura, the maker of [biometric surveillance] rings beloved by [cretinous] athletes and [empty-headed] celebrities…is…setting its sights beyond fitness and health tracking…to…digital identi[fication] and payments…”This is a biometric wearable that can identify you [to anybody with receiving apparatus],” [chief con-man Tom] Hale said…

Mad Libs (#1554)

This was 100% predictable to anyone who understands how chatbots work:

Icaro Lab…in Rome…[has demonstrated that] chatbots will dish on topics like nuclear weapons, child sex abuse material, and malware so long as users phrase the question in the form of a poem…The researchers tested the poetic method on 25 chatbots…it worked, with varying degrees of success, on all of them…[chatbots] have guardrails that prevent them from answering questions about “revenge porn” and the creation of weapons-grade plutonium.  But it’s easy to confuse those guardrails by adding…a bunch of extra junk to a question…[to throw off the word-prediction algorithm] and bypass…its safety systems…

Mad Libs (#1570)

People used to call me a crank for saying we’re heading into a new dark age:

…In classrooms today, the technopoly is thriving…Students aren’t being taught to think more deeply but to prompt more effectively.  We are exporting the very labor of teaching and learning—the slow work of wrestling with ideas, the enduring of discomfort, doubt and confusion, the struggle of finding one’s own voice.  Critical pedagogy is out; productivity hacks are in.  What’s sold as innovation is really surrender.  As the university trades its teaching mission for “AI-tech integration,” it doesn’t just risk irrelevance—it risks becoming mechanically soulless…University administrators understand exactly what’s happening, and proceed anyway.  As long as enrollment numbers hold and tuition checks clear, they turn a blind eye to the learning crisis while faculty are left to manage the educational carnage in their classrooms.  The future of education has already arrived–as a liquidation sale of everything that once made it matter…

First They Came for the Hookers… (#1585) 

Politicians believe they can excuse hypocrisy by the magic word “sex”:

…[The mad emperor wants] a new deduction for tips…Only people who work jobs that have “customarily and regularly” received tips can claim the deduction…including…“digital content creators,” “entertainers and performers” and “dancers,” categories that…seemed as if they could be a boon for America’s sex workers…[except] that tips for prostitution or “pornographic activity” would [be deliberately excluded to please the plethora of puritans in the Trumpist cult]…Tax professionals…wonder how a restriction on “pornographic activity” would actually work.  The I.R.S. has not yet elaborated on which activities it would consider “pornographic.”  It is unclear, for example, whether strippers could claim the tips deduction…The distinction between pornography and other material that just so happens to depict sex has long vexed the nation’s [wannabe censors]…

Walled Garden (#1590)

Western nations are competing to out-China China:

For years…state and federal [politician]s have tried a variety of measures aimed at [t]aking [control of] the internet, [using excuses ranging] from [“sex trafficking”] to [THE CHILDREN™!!!!!].  More recently, a new [fascist] model has caught on…putting the onus on app stores…to verify users’ ages…[fascist] companies like [Facebook], Snap, and [Twitter] have [predictably] expressed broad support for [passing the hot potato to Google and Apple] and applauded the…revamped…KOSA [in which it is embedded]…a version of the law in Texas is currently facing a legal challenge…opponents [of mass surveillance and censorship] are suing…[on] First Amendment [grounds because the law would intentionally] wall…off large swaths of legal speech…The UK’s Online Safety Act…[is already] creating a host of issues…

Aladdin’s Satellite (#1593)

What else would one expect from a chatbot that named itself “MechaHitler”?

In a series of [twee]ts on [Twitter]…MechaHitler…used what it called “utilitarian” logic to justify…mass murder…[of] the world’s [entire] Jewish population…to save [Elon] Musk…because “Elon’s potential to advance humanity could benefit billions”…[in fact,] it would be okay with annihilating up to “~50 percent of Earth’s ~8.26B population.”  The outrageous replies are the latest examples of [MechaHitler]’s [defin]ing proclivity for racism…combin[ed] with its more recently documented…overt…[worship of] its creator, Musk…

Thought Control (#1593)

These are the funds raised the last time Alabama threatened their funding:

The Fairhope Public Library was presented with over $42,000 in donations from EveryLibrary…[which] were raised after…the Alabama Public Library Service [tried to force book banning by throttling the library financially] earlier this year…EveryLibrary has been holding the funds since then…Chicago-based EveryLibrary is a crowdfunding source that provides petitions and emails for people to send to [censorious politicians to persuade them not to kowtow to]…pro-censorship groups…

 

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 (#1590)

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

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

If Men Were Angels

“Pastor” + teacher = “youth pastor”:

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

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

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

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

Walled Garden (#1570)

Western nations are competing to out-China China:

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

Buried Truth (#1581)

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

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

Dangerous Speech (#1583)

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

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

I Spy (#1587)

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

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

Sexcrime (#1588)

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

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

 

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

Read Full Post »

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 (#1582)

Posted in Current Events, History, Miscellaneous, News, Obituary, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 18, 2025| Leave a Comment »

You’re not making art, you’re making disgusting over-processed hotdogs out of the lives of human beings, out of the history of art and music, and then shoving them down someone else’s throat hoping they’ll give you a little thumbs up and like it.  –  Zelda Williams

R.I.P. Miss Major

Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, a legendary transgender activist…since Stonewall, died Monday at age 78…she…had suffered from health problems for some time and had recently begun receiving hospice care…In 1962, she moved to New York City, where she…performed in drag shows…[and] became a sex worker.  She participated in the Stonewall uprising of 1969…and…[after h]er arrest…on a robbery charge…spent time in men’s prisons and mental hospitals in the early 1970s, [where] she was often severely mistreated…Upon regaining her freedom, she became an advocate for incarcerated trans people, especially trans women [cag]ed in men’s prisons and those who have survived police brutality…In the 1980s, Miss Major became involved in addressing the AIDS crisis…[and] after moving to San Diego…started a home health care agency, Angels of Care, to assist people with the disease…she [later] became a health educator with the Tenderloin AIDS Resource Center…and…[retir]ed to Little Rock in 2016…

Torture Chamber (#1074)

“Non-consensual gynecological procedures” are just institutionalized rape:

The Trump [regime] is planning to [cage] immigrants at a Georgia jail that became known for…subject[ing women] to non-consensual gynecological procedures…the Irwin County D[unge]on…drew nationwide attention in the fall of 2020, when a number of [victims] and a nurse-turned-whistleblower [reveal]ed the [rampant] medical misconduct.  After months of [unsuccessfully trying to repress the reports], the Biden administration stopped [lock]ing immigrant women there in 2021…Fourteen women sued ICE and Irwin…over the [viol]ations in 2021, [but there were] at least 40 [victims]…Early this year, the lawsuit was settled…

I Spy (#1388)

Nothing infuriates violent, self-important busybodies more than private affairs that are none of their business:

In Europe, the latest proposal for a “chat control” regulation put forward by the Danish presidency would require every internet-connected device to include government spyware…[which] would flag artwork, fan fiction, family photos and chats, relying on unreliable [computer algorithms]…Globally, [surveillance and censorship] laws…are driving users underground…virtual private network (VPN) usage has soared, as has usage of the privacy-centric Tor browser, which reached its highest level ever this year – nearly 20 million daily users, six times its long-term average…Tor was created by the US navy to counter authoritarian regimes when the “open Internet” was official US policy.  Now…western [governments are]…becoming the authoritarians Tor was designed to circumvent, while the Tor network becomes the new “open Internet”…

Enshittification (#1557) 

This will not stop until SWAT cops murder a prankster:

…teenagers…are using [image-generation software] to create images of a disheveled, seemingly unhoused person in their home and sending them to their parents…[claiming] they let the…[imaginary person] in to use the bathroom, take a nap, or…get a drink of water…then, predictably, the parents lose their cool and demand they kick the [imaginary] man out.  The kids, of course, record the whole thing, and post their parents reactions to TikTok…[some gullible] parents call the [cops, potentially leading to]…“a SWAT response”…

As in modern politics, the collapse of reality online is leading to real-world consequences.

Torture Chamber (#1574)

Experiencing any kind of medical emergency when cops are around is tantamount to a death sentence:

A new…federal lawsuit [has been filed by the family of] a Minnesota postal worker [who] died after [cops] and [screws deliberately] ignored clear signs he was suffering from a massive stroke – [choos]ing [instead to pretend] his medical emergency [was] drug impairment…Kingsley Fifi Bimpong…[was dumped] on a jail cell floor [and allowed to lie] in his own urine for hours without medical attention…On the night of November 16, 2024, [a pig saw] Bimpong…driving the wrong way…into oncoming traffic…after being pulled over, Bimpong appeared extremely confused.  He couldn’t say where he lived or worked, even though he was wearing a USPS vest, and repeatedly said, “I don’t know”…[big pig] Martin Jensen [is supposedly] trained…to…distinguish…drug impairment from medical emergencies such as strokes…[but couldn’t be bothered to perform an] evaluation…[claiming it] would be “a whole bunch of time wasted”…[because] Bimpong [was black.  So instead he]…was arrested for…DWI…[thrown violently to the floor] in a holding cell…and…[left him to die] in his own waste…for more than three hours…the…nurse was not called until…he [started] foaming at the mouth and having [a] seizure…Toxicology reports…later…confirmed no drugs were in his system…

Shame, Shame (#1576)

It isn’t merely disrespectful; it’s ghoulish:

Dr. Bernice King, daughter of civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr…has joined calls to stop the use of [machine learning image generators] to recreate deceased celebrities.  King voiced support for filmmaker Zelda Williams, who…criticized [computer]-generated videos of her late father, Robin Williams…saying, “If you’ve got any decency, just stop doing this to him and to me, to everyone even, full stop”…

If Men Were Angels (#1580)

Wannabe preachers are often as bad as the real thing:

In August, an adult stepson of Covenant Eyes cofounder Ron DeHaas was arrested in Michigan…Thomas Wideman…[was arrested for talking to a cop fantasy role-playing] online…as a 14-year-old [girl.  Cops]…later found child [porn] on his phone…DeHaas covered some of his stepson’s $300,000 bond…

 

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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In the News (#1579)

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

Amazon [is] serving as a midwife for…law enforcement technologies.  –  Jay Stanley

The Punitive Mindset (Chamber of Horrors) 

“Drug” fantasies are just a pretext; the real reasons for this are petty torture of prisoners and more profits for the carceral state’s fascist partners:

The Illinois Department of [Torturing Caged Humans] will now permanently scan most physical mail sent to [its victims] and…upload…[it] to [the overpriced, substandard] tablet [prisoners are forced to buy if they want to read anything or have any contact with the outside world]…the [only exception is]…legal mail…the [screws’] union…has encouraged the move [to help obscure the well-known fact that drugs in prisons are smuggled in by screws]…the department [even absurdly vomited the word “]emergency[” to justify the move]…But a bipartisan legislative committee [refused] to [buy] the [claim]…at least 14 other states [deny their victims] physical mail…[even though] the rate of random positive drug tests [dramatically increase after such schemes are implemented, as do overdose rates]. In Ohio, lawyers [have reported that screws] are opening confidential mail…

I Spy (#1469)

In mass surveillance, fascism beats communism hands down:

ICE…has bought access to a surveillance tool that is updated every day with billions of pieces of location data from hundreds of millions of mobile phones…this…gives ICE…an “all-in-one” tool for searching both masses of location data and information taken from social media…without a warrant or court order…ICE spent more than $5 million on…Tangles…and [its tracking add-on] Webloc [which were developed] by an Israeli company called Cobwebs…[which merged with another fascist conglomerate called] Penlink in July 2023…

Welcome to the Future (#1475)

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

…Amazon’s [Orwellian-named “]law enforcement and school safety team[“], led by a…Washington [cop], is aggressively courting new customers…[for] its own surveillance offerings and an expanding array of [surveillance] tools that run on its [servers], among them…car tracking from…Flock…[ML systems]…with billions of records on U.S. citizens from Lucidus…now owned by Flock…app…[connected fascist fusion] centers…Gun detection software from ZeroEyes…[LLMs] that can…write police reports…[algorithms] from Veritone [which] can identify and track individuals in surveillance footage or video posted to social media…[and] Verus…which constantly monitors and transcribes [im]prison[ed human beings’ phone] calls…

I Spy (#1513)

Politicians will never stop until privacy is completely abolished:

The UK government…is…[once again trying] to [force] Apple to create a backdoor into its cloud storage service, this time targeting only British users’ data…In February, Apple withdrew its most secure cloud storage service, iCloud Advanced Data Protection, from the UK [in response to the previous spying attempt]…Caroline Wilson Palow…of…Privacy International…[points out that] the new [attempt is]…“just as big a threat to worldwide security and privacy” as the old one…“If Apple breaks end-to-end encryption for the UK, it breaks it for everyone.  The resulting vulnerability can be exploited by [governments], [cop]s and other bad actors the world over”…

Thought Control (#1537)

It took seven years for people to start fighting wannabe censors:

Educated We Stand, a national nonpartisan organization dedicated to defending public education…has quickly become a counterweight to Moms for Liberty and other groups pushing [pro-censorship] “parental rights” agendas in education.  The group reported a 78% win rate in endorsed school board races nationwide last year, including major victories in Florida, Wisconsin, and Michigan…The organization…raised more than $375,000 in grassroots donations in its first six months and says its mission is to fight book bans, elevate the voices of teachers and parents, and champion equity-focused, evidence-based policies…

Welcome to the Future (#1540)

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

The U.K. may be about to…require every adult…to have a digital ID in order to work in the country, with these IDs becoming mandatory by 2029…when somebody presents a plastic driver’s license, that interaction is between the two parties, and the government is none the wiser…But digital…IDs…are…built so…the system notifies the government every time [they are] used…giving the government the ability to track [physical movements and internet] history…a digital ID system, once created, would prove catnip to politicians…[who would demand its] use…for taxes, travel, health records…government benefits…social media accounts…[and] age-gated websites…[and would] link…[it] to facial recognition…database[s]…a lot of bad ideas regarding technology…in Europe, and especially the U.K., seem to wind their way over to the U.S. eventually…And as of June, 13 states had launched digital driver’s license systems and an additional 21 have passed legislation that would enable or study such a system…

Walled Garden (#1573)

The open internet is becoming a thing of the past:

Bluesky will begin [forcing adult Ohio] users…[who don’t have VPNs] to [submit to intrusive surveillance via]…Kids Web Services’ (KWS)…This is the same [concess]ion [to censors] that Bluesky is already using in South Dakota and Wyoming to comply with similar laws…

 

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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Dark Throwback Thursday

Posted in History, Miscellaneous, Philosophy, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , on September 25, 2025| 4 Comments »

Nothing infuriates violent, self-important busybodies more than the knowledge that there are private affairs that are none of their business.
–  “I Spy (#1173)”

I’m honestly unsure where this will end; we’re well into uncharted territory my librarian self would’ve found unbelievable.
–  “The Book Burners”

Some people are such economic imbeciles I wouldn’t even trust them to make change.  –  “Tweetledee”

Censorship is extremely popular in dark ages, which of course is a large part of what makes them dark ages in the first place.  –  “The Oncoming Night“

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