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Posts Tagged ‘Idaho’

Venereal disease was primarily an excuse to police women and reduce sexual opportunities for soldiers.  –  Eric Rogers

Bad Girls

Did they really think they’d get away with this?

An ex-Playboy model…has reportedly reached a plea deal despite maintaining her innocence in the [bludgeoning death of her sugar daddy]…California psychiatrist Dr. Thomas Burchard…[was] paying numerous bills [for]…Kelsey Turner…[to the tune of] over…$300,000…[yet] Judy Earp – the [victim’s conventional] girlfriend…[is in deep denial about] that…In March 2019, Burchard drove to Turner’s Las Vegas apartment – for which he had been paying the rent…[with the] inten[t] to break off the relationship…[then] on March 7, 2019, Burchard’s bludgeoned body was found stuffed in the trunk of [Turner’s Mercedes] near Lake Mead…Turner and her…boyfriend Jon “Logan” Kennison…[lived in the apartment with] Diana Pena…who pleaded guilty to being an accessory to murder in 2019…[and] testified that she witnessed Kennison viciously beat Burchard to death with a baseball bat…In June, Kennison pleaded guilty to second-degree murder with a deadly weapon and conspiracy to commit murder.  He was sentenced to between 18 and 45 years in prison…

License to Rape

“Search” is the most common government euphemism for “molest”:

Two Georgia women…were exposed to strangers…[during sexual molestation under the pretext of “]strip searches[“]…Dee Dee Estes [molested one]…woman…on the night of July 23, 2020…in plain view of the public after deputies [decid]ed [it would be fun to belch out the word]…drugs during a traffic stop.  “And she’s putting her fingers like inside me in the front, and then like up the backside of me”[besides penetrating the victim]’s private areas [without her consent, the rapist cop also forced] her [to] expose her breasts in front of male [pig]s and onlookers at a truck stop…

Do As I Say, Not As I Do

Extra-amusing given that Northern Ireland lives under the Swedish model:

A [cop was] arrested on suspicion of paying for sexual services [after his fellow cops ratted him out for] using his PSNI computer to contact escorts…His…identity is [being hidden by his superiors, unlike the identities of non-cops arrested for the same “crime”]…

The Face of Trafficking

Note that cases of actual coercion don’t look much like the myths:

Three [Louisiana] children were forced to bake and sell brownies by their stepfather[,] who…[also] sexually abus[ed] them and us[ed] violence, including waterboarding, to keep them working seven days a week…instead of going to school…for three years…Darnell Fulton…also…sexually abus[ed] the children and [apparently pimped] them to other[s]…Fulton…agreed to a 35-year prison term and to pay more than $700,000 to his victims…the…younge[st of whom]…was [under]…12…at…the…[time]He…us[ed] “violence, sexual abuse, withholding of food, degradation and intimidation” to [forc]e the children…[to] keep up with his daily sales quotas…the [abuse]…included…[forcing] them “get on their hands and knees on rice and stay in a push up or plank position for hours”…and…[beating] them with a belt [when they could no longer hold the position]…

Red Lamp

Modern military leaders like to pretend soldiers can be ordered to be asexual; those of a century ago tried to exploit soldiers’ frustrated libido:

The United States Government sought to sexually stimulate then frustrate its soldiers to prepare them for an unpopular conflict in Europe [by]…recruiting attractive canteen staff; inviting female civilians to closely supervised dances; disseminating alluring propaganda; pressurising troops to write to women back home; and detaining allegedly promiscuous women to prevent soldiers [“]wasting[“] energy…At the heart of this experiment was the Commission on Training Camp Activities (CTCA), a War Department-directed umbrella agency…[which] sought to control soldiers’ and women’s sex lives to prevent venereal infection and protect social morality in the US.  The CTCA has been portrayed as one of the last stands of an older generation of moral reformers against the onrush of a liberalizing sexual culture.  But Cambridge historian Eric Wycoff Rogers shows that the agency was far more interested in sexuality as a weapon…

The Cop Myth (#1052)

Cop cultists continue to deny reality no matter how much police violence and corruption is revealed:

…in 2020, Ricky Jones, a [typical and representative cop], jumped to his death from the Prince of Wales Bridge spanning the River Severn…He spent 26 years as a [violent thug for hire, so it’s no surprise]…he subjected his family to decades of domestic abuse.  After his death, Jones’s eldest daughter looked through his iPhone, hoping to get some insight into her father’s cruelty…WhatsApp and Facebook messages show Gwent police officers openly discussing the sexual harassment of junior female colleagues; racist, homophobic and misogynistic abuse; the leaking of sensitive police material; and corruption…Jones shared regular messages with his friend Clarke Joslyn, who [has a]…26 year…[history] of domineering, controlling and physically abusive behaviour…

The End of the Beginning (#1139) 

Let’s hope many more challenges to these medieval laws succeed:

…the state of Idaho [has] settled Doe v. Wasden, an ACLU lawsuit challenging enforcement of the state’s “Crime Against Nature” law.  The state required three men to register as sex offenders in Idaho for engaging in consensual oral and anal sex…The settlement…requires the state to remove the three men from the Idaho Sex Offender Registry and to create a policy for removing other individuals who may have similar claims…

 

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If you don’t [sell people’s data to cops], someone else probably will.  –  anonymous data broker

To Molest and Rape

The media are becoming slightly more willing to call cops’ criminal behavior what it is:

A [typical and representative] Kenosha [Wisconsin cop named…Joshua Sylvester…was fired for…sexually assault[ing]…a…woman [who wrecked into] a tree…[while] driving [drunk]…Sylvester sexually assaulted her…while [lurking]…in [her] hospital [room for over two hours.  He]…also went through her phone, found nude photos of her and sent them to himself…

I Spy (The Vultures Descend)

As was predicted when news of abortion recriminalization first broke:

A Gizmodo investigation into some of the nation’s biggest data brokers found more than two dozen promoting access to datasets containing digital information on millions of pregnant and potentially pregnant [women]…at least one of those companies also offered a large catalogue of…[women] using the same sorts of birth control that’s being targeted by more restrictive states right now…Also on the market: data on 478 million customer profiles labeled “interested in pregnancy” or “intending to become pregnant.”  You can see the full list of companies for yourself

Opting Out (#1241)

This will keep getting worse until policians stop giving fanatics a heckler’s veto:

French [pro-censorship] groups claiming to represent “the children”…formally request[ed]…that online government regulator Arcom suspend Twitter in France unless the platform finds, within two weeks, a way to block minors from what the groups [declare] “pornographic” content…The coalition calling for censorship of the international platform is a patchwork of obscure organizations pursuing a self-appointed mission of “child protection” and sex work abolitionism.  Among them…[is] noted…[prohib]itionist lobby Fondation Scelles

Vulture Watching

The fact that SCOTUS didn’t foresee this is a clear indicator that their overturn of Roe was not based in legal reasoning:

…The Department of Justice…sued to stop [the abortion] ban in Idaho, wh[ich]…goes against provisions of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act…requir[ing] hospitals receiving Medicare funds (i.e., most U.S. hospitals) to provide stabilizing treatment…”Federal law is clear: patients have the right to stabilizing hospital emergency room care no matter where they live,” said…DHS…Secretary Xavier Becerra.  “Women should not have to be near death to get care”…No existing abortion ban lacks an exception for a mother’s life, but some do omit exceptions for women’s health.  And…many pregnancy complications could become life-threatening while not being necessarily or immediately so.  The HHS guidance…stat[es] that regardless of what a state law says, physicians must provide an abortion if one is necessary to address an emergency medical condition…Texas sued over th[is]…and…the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas…granted a preliminary injunction against enforcing the mandate against Texas…A court in Idaho came to [the opposite conclusion]…The discordant rulings could force the issue back before the Supreme Court, if appeals courts in each district concur with the lower courts…

Thought Control (#1264)

I never would’ve thought my first profession would become as much a target for authoritarians as my second:

A new Missouri law [criminalizes stocking] books with [what politicians define as] sexually explicit images from school libraries…it [is now] a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail or a $2,000 fine for librarians…to [allow] students access to such material.  The law does not apply to written descriptions of sex or sexual acts; only photos, drawings, videos, and other visual depictions…“showing human masturbation, deviate [sic] sexual intercourse,…physical stimulation of genitals, sadomasochistic abuse,” or showing human genitals.  There are exceptions for anatomy, biology, sex education, art [politicians decide to tolerate], and other images [declared] educational [by censorious politicians].  Melissa Corey…of the Missouri Association of School Librarians, [believes] the law likely will only [be enforced against art politicians dislike]…Corey said the association advised librarians to work with local school boards to best follow the law, particularly the [incredibly vague and arbitrary] exceptions for art and biology…

Winding Down (#1265)

Alas, the drug war isn’t ending; the government is simply shifting it to nicotine:

For the first time in Gallup polling, more Americans (16%) said they smoke marijuana than had smoked a tobacco cigarette (11%) in the past week…Marjiuana and tobacco usage trends have been going in opposite directions for a few decades now.  By 1985, nearly as many Americans said they had tried marijuana (33%) as had smoked a cigarette in the past week (35%).  Cigarette smoking has been declining ever since. By 2013, just 19% of Americans were smoking cigarettes at least once a week…while…38%…told Gallup they had tried marijuana…

To Molest and Rape (#1267)

Those who consort with cops are often just as awful:

…a [typical and representative] Delcambre [Louisiana cop named]…Christopher Moorehart…[has been arrested for] rap[ing his girlfriend’s five-year-old daughter on multiple occasions]…The mother…Kimberly Healy…was arrested and [charged for letting him do it and]…never report[ing him even]…after [they] broke up…Moorehart [then started fucking an Iberia Parish screw named Shelly Lynn] Friou…[who also kept the child rapes] secret…[until] the two broke up [after which she reported him to their fellow pigs as an act of vengeance]…

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I’ve never known anybody to be under the influence of lobster.
–  Bruce Flammey

Lying Down With Dogs (#335)

What other country publicly shames those who engage in sex work?

Police in Bali have arrested yet another pair of creators, charging them with “producing pornographic videos”…The latest in a series of widely publicized arrests under Indonesia’s draconian anti-obscenity laws involves a married couple in their 30s…During the press conference…[cops] held up printouts of screen captures of the couple’s content, as the accused [were forced to stand] behind them wearing prison orange….they…face up to 12 years imprisonment if found guilty…

To Molest and Rape

Cop is a cop is a cop is a cop:

A [typical and representative] Texas [cop]…has reached a plea deal in the [rape] assault of two Houston women…David Lynn Turner…met his victims on social media and dating websites by claiming he wanted to meet women who could communicate with the dead.  He then…[told] them they were going to a haunted house in Shepherd, Texas…once [he] had the[m] women alone and in the dark at the supposed haunted house, he physically intimidated them…

Eternal Vigilance (#940)

Note that this creep was trying to demand sex in addition to rent, not offer to accept voluntary sex in lieu of cash rent:

Allan Rothstein…forced a prospective tenant to sign [a bizarre contract agreeing to sex on demand]…in order to rent a four-bedroom ho[use in]…Las Vegas…The document is titled “Direct Consent for Sexual Intercourse and or (oral sex)”…and…the…terms…are even crazier than the title.  The tenant had to swear she wasn’t signing “under the influence of an incapacitating intoxicant, aphrodisiacs, or psychoactive substances, including but not limited to, alcohol, drugs, oysters, Bremelanotide, truffles, sea cucumber, strawberries, lobster, dark chocolate, Cocaine, LSD, cannabis or any other mind-altering chemical or substance, nor have they been given the same by the INITIATOR/S”…Another paragraph says the tenant swears she “does not currently have a boyfriend/girlfriend/parent who is larger, meaner, and more physically aggressive, owns firearms and/or is more possessive than the INITIATOR/S”…the tenant and her five children were homeless, living from week to week in a residential hotel…[they were] approv[ed]…for Section 8…But…ha[d] to find a residence…covered by the program within…60 days…

The Mob Rules (#1215)

These mob rule laws will continue to metastasize unless SCOTUS acts:

The Idaho Supreme Court has rejected a bid by abortion rights advocates to prevent a near-total ban from taking effect later this month. The criminalization of all abortions will take effect later this month…The ruling would allow potential relatives of an embryo or fetus to sue abortion providers over procedures done after six weeks of gestation, before many people know they are pregnant.  Another ban criminalizing all abortions is set to take effect later this month…While rapists cannot sue under the law, a rapist’s family members would be able to…

To Molest and Rape (#1230)

Most rapist cops have multiple underage victims:

A grand jury indicted a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy on charges of sexually assaulting four girls in a case that prosecutors [tried to sweep under the rug] a decade ago…Sean Essex…[raped, molested, and orally raped four girls who] were ages 7 to 13 at the time of the crimes…

Thought Control (#1253)

I never would’ve thought my first profession would become as much a target for authoritarians as my second:

The new District Attorney in [Chattanooga,] Tennessee…said she would consider prosecuting librarians, teachers, and school administrators over books that some parents [want to censor]…Coty Wamp…[also] said she had brought [pro-censorship group] Moms for Liberty in to meet with the sheriff on the issue…

Do As I Say, Not As I Do (#1261)

It’s always lovely to see them feeding on each other:

Denver [cop] Timothy Hyatt has been arrested for…inter[acting]…with [another cop fantasy role-playing as] a 14-year-old girl…us[ing] multiple social media platforms and a variety of online [alias]es…

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After the government does something especially awful, there is usually an avalanche of horror stories illustrating exactly what reasonable people warned would happen after the awful government act.  The overturn of Roe v Wade is no exception; if I had included these stories in my normal news columns, they would’ve completely dominated most of the late July installments.  So instead, I opted to collect them all together here; future updates to these stories will appear in regular news columns under the appropriate tags.

One of the strongest reasons to oppose authoritarian laws of any kind is that they inevitably harm people the politicians insist they weren’t trying to target:

A sexual assault survivor chooses sterilization so that if she is ever attacked again, she won’t be forced to give birth to a rapist’s baby.  An obstetrician delays inducing a miscarriage until a woman with severe pregnancy complications seems “sick enough.”  A lupus patient must stop taking medication that controls her illness because it can also cause miscarriages.  Abortion restrictions in a number of states and the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade are having profound repercussions in reproductive medicine as well as in other areas of medical care…Even in medical emergencies, doctors are sometimes declining immediate treatment. In the past week, an Ohio abortion clinic received calls from two women with ectopic pregnancies…who[se] doctors wouldn’t treat them…

More about the aforementioned lupus drug many women are now being denied:

Methotrexate is a cheap, common drug prescribed to millions of Americans…[for] rheumatic illnesses…inflammatory bowel disease, psoriasis or cancer…[but because] it is used off-label to end ectopic pregnancies…it could be restricted by doctors or pharmacists even in states…that do not ban abortion…in low doses, it has proved to be one of the safest, least expensive and most effective treatments for roughly a dozen autoimmune conditions, from juvenile idiopathic arthritis to Crohn’s disease…“I have gotten some reports where children have been denied methotrexate for their juvenile arthritis until they’ve proven they’re not pregnant,” said Dr. Cuoghi Edens…a rheumatology expert…“The majority of rheumatic diseases affect females at substantially higher rates than males…The prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis in women to men is 3 to 1.  For lupus it’s 10 to 1.  And so rheumatology is a very female-predominant patient population”…some doctors have already stopped prescribing methotrexate rather than risk [persecution]…Many pharmacists have likewise refused to fill methotrexate prescriptions, or have demanded additional proof before dispensing the medication to patients they believe could get pregnant…

And it’s not just a few fundamentalist asshat pharmacists, either:

…the largest pharmacy chain in the country sent explicit instructions to its pharmacists informing them that new checks would be implemented to confirm the reason a doctor prescribes a drug before filling routine medications for patients…CVS headquarters sent a memo to pharmacies in [Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Montana, Oklahoma, and Texas]…review[ing] diagnosis codes that are deemed acceptable for dispensation, which include miscarriage…If they find abortion is the intended use, they “must refuse to fill the prescription”…

Some of the tyrannies forced-birth fetishists are trying to impose are blatantly unconstitutional:

South Carolina [politician]s introduced legislation that would make it illegal to “aid, abet or conspire with someone” to obtain an abortion…Provisions would outlaw providing information over the internet or phone about how to obtain an abortion.  It would also make it illegal to host a website or “[provide] an internet service” with information that is “reasonably likely to be used for an abortion”…the proposal is…modeled off a blueprint created by the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), an antiabortion group, and designed to be replicated by [politician]s across the country…

Other FOSTA-inspired laws which encourage nuisance lawsuits have unfortunately not yet been declared unconstitutional:

Nearly four years after a woman ended an unwanted pregnancy with abortion pills obtained at a Phoenix clinic, she finds herself mired in an ongoing lawsuit [after]…A judge allowed the woman’s ex-husband to establish an estate for the embryo, which had been aborted in its seventh week of development.  The ex-husband filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the clinic and its doctors in 2020, alleging that…[he has the right to make decisions for his ex-wife]…

Naturally, this new extension of the police state will be enabled by the same fascist surveillance tactics as the War on Whores:

Many of the states rushing to ban abortion are also the biggest users of a surveillance tool that [cops] could use to track women ending their pregnancies — the location data from people’s phones…states across the country are already using this kind of data for other [surveillance and harassment].  And a POLITICO analysis found that many of the states that have criminalized abortion have relied increasingly on location data in recent years…Figures from Google…show that the company received 5,764 “geofence” warrants between 2018 and 2020 from police in the 10 states that have banned abortion as of July 5…

Of course, sex workers know all about most of these oppressions, because they’re tested on us first before being extended to amateurs:

Madolline Gourley, a Brisbane resident…was treated like a criminal during her transit through Los Angeles on 30 June, where she was detained at the border due to suspicions about her intention to house- and cat-sit in exchange for accommodation while holidaying in Canada.  Gourley was held in a detention room, interrogated twice, patted down, fingerprinted and photographed…At one point a US b[ureaucrat] asked Gourley, who was wearing a loose-fitting dress, whether she was pregnant.  The same question was repeated as she was moved between rooms.  When she again [replied that]…she was not pregnant, Gourley was asked whether she had had an abortion…

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The number of arrests for human trafficking is zero.  –  Gary Edinger

Above the Law (#136)

Well, this is different:

A female [cop] has been jailed for six months after getting caught with a convicted rapist under her supervision.  Rachel Beale…was caught by her boyfriend…in bed with…Marc Few…with whom she was having an intimate affair.  Beale f[irst]…brought [Few] home to her country cottage to do odd jobs for her…[the boyfriend] became suspicious when he woke up one morning to find Beale missing…[so] he went to [Few’s] address…and caught him naked in bed with…Beale…wh[o]…also used her [cop perks]…to make hotel bookings…for…purposes [other than maliciously tricking people]…

Bullies With Badges (#977)

Everyone harmed by “trafficking investigations” needs to keep suing over them:

Many of Jacksonville’s biggest strip clubs have a new deal with city attorneys that is years in the making…[the city is] paying the businesses and dancers [a paltry] $60,000, [but] police also have new restrictions on how they can in[terfere with the normal operations of] these venues…owners filed a lawsuit in 2018…[due to] the city…violating the businesses’ constitutional rights in a number of ways…Wacko’s [lawyer Gary]…Edinger…[fantasies] city [politicians] have [bloviated about] linking clubs with human trafficking.  “Bullshit…the City of Jacksonville has never made a human trafficking arrest in an adult entertainment system, not in the bikini bars and not in the nude clubs”…

Disaster (#1072)

This Bloomberg reporter slurps up propaganda in such a nauseating fashion, the edits were self-defense:

The U.S. government can continue enforcing a law designed to c[ensor the internet and harm sex workers]…after a federal court in Washington [pretende]d that it’s neither overly broad nor unduly vague.  The [court incorrectly claimed]…FOSTA, doesn’t violate the First Amendment because it doesn’t discriminate against speech based on its content…Woodhull Freedom Foundation, Human Rights Watch, Internet Archive, and two individuals who operate websites that…come within FOSTA sued to invalidate it…correctly interpret[ing] the law as…targeting the online promotion…of sex work [which cops, spooks, politicians, and prosecutors often misrepresent as the “sex trafficking” specifically named in the law]…

Still a Child (#1154) 

Japanese politicians appear to understand that infantilizing legally-adult women in matters of sex is nothing like feminism:

As Japan debates lowering the age of legal majority from 20 to 18, a [politician] asked the prime minister to create an exception in the new laws so that 18- and 19-year-old…[women are still considered legal minors] in the a[rea of sex work]…contract…[law]…Ayaka Shiomura…[appears to imagine this constitutes “feminism”, but to her] dismay…[other politicians] declined to create a specific “porn exception for 18- and 19-year-old women” within Japanese contract law.  The legal age for drinking, smoking and gambling, however, will remain at 20…

Creepy Coppers

This one really was a semi-“former” cop:

A former Tampa [cop] was arrested [March 30th] on 100 counts of child pornography after “disturbing evidence” was found on several of his personal devices…Paul Mumford…retired in 2015 as a sergeant and had been serving as a volunteer reserve [cop] ever since…Mumford…worked in the…Sex Crimes Unit from 2008 to 2009…[but boss cops denied] that…[Mumford] obtained any of the images from [work]…

Negative Secondary Effects (#1212)

In the current climate of oppression I’m not optimistic about the lawsuit’s chance of success:

Amidst a relentless U.K. media campaign demonizing sex work, the Edinburgh Council voted…to impose a “nil cap” on all sexual entertainment venues in the Scottish city, effectively banning all strip clubs…Virtually every prominent sex worker rights organization in the U.K. has sounded the alarm about this dangerous decision…which [left over 100 women suddenly jobless]…United Voices of the World, which also represents sex workers, will file for judicial review, according to legal caseworker Danielle Worden[, who said]…“Not only does this violate the the Equality Act 2010, it is an act of cruelty to remove the livelihoods of hundreds of workers as we enter the worst economic crisis since the 1970s”…

Thought Control (#1225)

Idaho politicians are punishing librarians for refusing to obediently submit to censorship:

Idaho [politicians] announced…that they will be forming a “working group” to study [their own propaganda about supposedly]…“explicit” or “pornographic” materials available to minors…[in] the state’s libraries…The House twice de[railed] the proposed budget for the Idaho Commission for Libraries…[with fanciful] claims that the libraries contain “pornographic material”…the library budget was eventually passed…but only after being cut by around…a third…

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Technology is not magic.  –  Andrea O’Sullivan

To Molest and Rape

So many words to downplay a rape:

A Columbia [South Carolina cop]…was arrested…[for raping] an “incapacitated” person…[and] was fired from the department shortly after[ward]…Keith Ryan Williamson [committed the rape]…in October…

“Accomplished sexual battery with the victim and had reason to know that the victim was incapacitated at the time of the assault” is a ridiculously cumbersome way to say “raped a drunk woman”.

To Molest and Rape (#1158)

Rapist cops don’t only target women:

An Indianapolis [cop] is [merely] facing misconduct and battery charges…[despite sexually assaulting] a handcuffed man…multiple times before throwing him to the ground…Travis Lewis…[decided to arrest the] man who called police [in the first place, and when he resisted being forced into a pigmobile]…Lewis…grab[bed] the man’s [testicles]…and…twist[ed them violently.  In video the man can be heard screaming]…”My balls are bleeding”…Lewis [then] threw the man to the ground…

Stalkers in Blue (#1167)

Once in a while, there’s evidence of the way cops act toward women:

A…Charleston[, South Carolina cop]…was fired…after a…[woman he tried] to coerce [into sex at] a department store [secretly recorded his harassment with her phone]…Darryl Felkel…made repeated attempts to coerce the woman…at [her work in] a Dillard’s department store…the woman refuse[d]…him…but…he…[just kept on haranguing her for seven] minutes…

Decentralization (#1181)

Bitcoin is a kind of folk devil for economically-illiterate politicians:

Politicians who don’t like bitcoin rarely have one reason.  They have all of the reasons, and will seize on whichever one is most convenient or newsworthy at the time.  Right now, it’s war.  Hillary Clinton was trotted out to wag her finger at crypto exchanges that did not extralegally ban all Russians from their services. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is on the case, “monitoring” cryptocurrency for its capacity to give aid and comfort to the Ruskies…But [Elizabeth] Warren stole the show with fearmongering about…”criminals and cheats” before…direct[ing confused] questions at a representative from…a blockchain forensics company…which…is…routinely able to unmask transactions…Warren, surprised but undeterred, continued with her confused line of questioning, so proud of herself that she put a transcript of the objectively embarrassing exchange on her government webpage…

Scapegoats (#1210)

No rumor is so stupid that some politician won’t believe and repeat it:

Nebraska [politician] Bruce Bostelman…is the latest [fool] to repeat th[e] urban legend [that] “Schoolchildren dress up as animals—cats or dogs—during the school day…And now schools are wanting to put litter boxes in the schools for these children to use.  How is this sanitary?” he said…during a televised debate, before backtracking hours later amid school district denials…similar myths have made the rounds in Iowa, Michigan, and Texas, prompting the same denials from school administrators…these stories…line up perfectly with conservative fears about transgender and non-binary students and…reminiscent of how [politicians] for years insisted that same-sex marriage legalization would lead to people marrying animals…

Thought Control (#1222)

Every so often the difference between upper and lower house becomes visible:

An Idaho bill that would have cr[iminalized]…librarians who provide minors with content [politicians] deemed inappropriate is now dead in the water; it…[will] not get a hearing in the state Senate…the Idaho Senate has also declined to take up the state House’s anti-trans bill

Science! (#1223)

“Sex trafficking” fetishists keep publicizing their creepy fantasies about Ukranian women:

Social media posts from a German sex work support network [were dishonestly]…use[d as propaganda by prohibitionists] falsely claiming the group is “recruiting” Ukrainian refugees to work in brothels.  The group was in fact highlighting support for existing sex workers…Trans*Sexworks is a Berlin-based peer support and mutual aid group primarily for transgender, intersex and non-binary people who do sex work…Wren Oscyth, one of the group’s members…explained…“We have absolutely no connection to brothels or places of employment in Germany.  There currently is not a single member of our group who is employed at a brothel or club since it is very uncommon for those places to hire trans and non-binary workers”…

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There was absolutely zero reason for any of those officers to approach this individual.  –  Judge Naita Semaj

License to Rape

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

A black schoolgirl was [molested] by police while on her period [under pretext of a “search”] after being [falsely accus]ed of carrying cannabis…by teachers, who…[intentionally traumatized a teenager because they] were [“]concerned[” she might have touched a plant]…

Under Duress (#824) 

Establishment media are finally beginning to admit that cops are habitual liars:

The widely-printed account [that claimed]…a…teenager who shot a [cop]…walked free because of lax bail laws, was a credulous transcription of the NYPD’s version of events, replete with racist tropes…Mayor Adams wasted no time in calling for the incarceration of his teenage constituent and falsely blaming his release on modest pre-trial reforms…Then…Judge Naita Semaj determined that NYPD [thug] Taulant Gjonbalaj and his [gang] lied in this case, finding the “incredible…self serving” police testimony “had no value”…Video fully discredited the police account.  But the case and fearmongering coverage had already been used to denigrate the young person, undermine any presumption of his innocence, and mislead the public…This case is not an aberration. Police lie under oath so often there is a word for it: testilying…

To Molest and Rape (#835)

The only unusual aspect of this story is that he eventually got caught:

Candace Sparks…[w]as a teenage runaway…sell[ing sex in]…Seattle…in the late 1970s…when…a Seattle [cop]…and his partner picked her up in an unmarked cargo van…[and] raped her.  Afterward…[they] pushed her naked out the back and tossed her clothes out after her…in 2019…an old friend…who…had [also done street] work…[at that time] informed Sparks that her estranged adult daughter had submitted DNA to a genealogy website…[and] learned her genetic profile matched her to a retired Seattle [cop] named K.C. Smith Jr.  A paternity test Smith took later confirmed he was the father…[the friend] had [also been]…raped [by a cop]…who [looked like Sparks’ rapist]…The [statute of limitations]…had long expired…[so] Sparks sued Smith and the city…

Lack of Evidence (#1117) 

The new version of “safeguarding” arrested sex workers at a “safe house”:

…increasing numbers of prostitutes are being [classified by cops as “]under investigation[“]…for lengthy periods of time…[in] a deliberate attempt…to eschew normal bail conditions…[One Korean sex worker named] Iris [explained that cops stole all of her money, including]…her purse…her bank accounts and [her] assets [using the excuse of “]modern slavery[” plus the old-fashioned charges]…of brothel-keeping, and controlling…Niki Adams…[of] the English Collective of Prostitutes…explained…“instead of releasing people on bail or charging them, they just release them under investigation, so people sit in limbo…There is no pressure or obligation to move the case forward.  When you are under investigation, you are not entitled to representation or legal aid, which puts people at a big disadvantage”…

Creepy Coppers

Just another cop demonstrating what he is:

A Houston [cop named Justin Weber] has been arrested and charged with possession of child pornography…two…month[s after someoneone snitched on him]…

Thought Control (#1210)

Idaho seems determined to ape Texas in every way possible:

Idaho [politicians] are threatening librarians and…other educat[ors]…with fines and even jail for [allow]ing minors to [read] material the government deems harmful.  Idaho, like most states, has a law that makes it a crime to expose or provide to youths under the age of 18 material that includes nudity, sexual conduct, or sadomasochism either in imagery or description…H.B. 666 (no, really), would…strike out the part of the law that provides a defense for school and museum employees and librarians and replace…it with nothing at all…[leaving] librarians…subject…to criminal penalties for any works that present nudity or sexual contact regardless of the context…

To Molest and Rape (#1217)

Notice how often rapist cops’ victims are underage?

A Las Vegas [screw] was arrested…[for rape]…Luis Ybarra…is facing a charge of sexual assault of a child less than 14 years old.  [In an unusual twist]…he was…[not rewarded] with…[a paid vacation]…

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Under feudalism most people are serfs, legally bound to a certain piece of land and barred from leaving it without the permission of their lords.  Serfdom as such was abolished centuries ago in the West, but in recent years governments have increasingly attempted to bring back the idea that citizens are (at least in some ways) owned by the governments under which they live, and therefore subject to the diktats of their owners even if they travel to places with different laws.  And I don’t mean only totalitarian states; the governments I speak of are modern Western ones.  Swedish politicians have made several attempts to criminalize their subjects who pay for sex in countries where it’s legal, despite objections from saner politicians that it would set a dangerous precedent for people who have homosexual relations or abortions in Sweden when those things are criminalized in their own countries.  Some countries criminalize parents who seek surrogacy arrangements overseas, and of course many tax jurisdictions (including the US) try to rob citizens blind if they have the temerity to move elsewhere.  And now American states which more aggressively claim ownership over their residents are also attempting to prevent their circumventing that control:

…a prominent antiabortion [politician] in Missouri, from where thousands of residents have traveled to next-door Illinois to receive abortions since Missouri passed one of the country’s strictest abortion laws in 2019, [now wants to]…allow private citizens to sue anyone who helps a Missouri resident obtain an abortion out of state, using the novel legal strategy [pioneered by]…Texas…the measure is [clearly] unconstitutional because it would effectively allow states to enact laws beyond their jurisdictions, but…Coleman…also w[ants to criminalize the]…possess[ion of]…abortion pills in Missouri…If enacted, the measure almost certainly would face a swift legal challenge…

And Missouri isn’t the only state to imitate Texan tyranny:

The Idaho House of Representatives…passed legislation to make it a crime punishable by life in prison for a parent to seek out gender-affirming health care for their transgender child…and…A parent or guardian would also be guilty of a felony if they travel with their child to another state for the purpose of obtaining gender-affirming health care…the Idaho proposal…is not unlike laws from a prior generation, including the criminalization of interracial couples traveling to another state to get married…which was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.  People already take trips to other states to do things that are legal that they can’t do where they live — from consuming cannabis, gambling or buying fireworks to obtaining an abortion — and there’s little states can do to stop that because of constitutional limits on restricting interstate travel…

It’s not coincidental that laws which attempt to reduce people to a kind of serfdom all revolve around things they might do with their genitalia; Americans have long been obsessed with what other people have between their legs, and what they do with that equipment, so naturally attempts to abrogate human rights often start thus because too many of their countrymen have similar views, and most of those who don’t are too ashamed to defend these rights (which is why so many who do defend them couch them in neutered euphemisms like “love”).  But make no mistake: if these abominations are allowed to stand, the precedent will quickly be extended to other rights that control freaks hate, just as Texas’ abortion law has already inspired gun-grabbers to attempt similar tactics.  And if you think the current police state is bad, you ain’t seen nuthin’ yet.

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Is there anything they wouldn’t sell this mass surveillance for?
–  Jack Poulson

A Broker in Pillage

Nobody will be safe until this odious, contemptible practice is recognized as unconstitutional:

Carl Nelson and Amy Sterner Nelson…[w]ere…[forced to sell] their house and their car, liquidate…their retirement funds, and move…their family of six from a comfortable West Seattle home to Amy’s sister’s basement after the FBI s[tole] almost $1 million from them in May 2020…The[y looted]…nearly every corner of the Nelsons’ world, including…the savings Amy racked up from her decade as a practicing attorney…[even though] the[y]…never even suspected Amy of committing any crime.  It was…Carl—a former real estate transaction manager for Amazon—w[hom]…they accused…of showing favor to certain developers and securing them deals in exchange for illegal kickbacks…the…years-long investigation into Carl’s alleged fraud has not yielded an indictment.  Yet no such thing was necessary for the federal government to wreck the Nelsons’ lives…Last week, the government agreed to a settlement:  Of the original approximately $892,000 it seized, it will return $525,000…and…[keep] about $109,000. (The remaining sum has been depleted by court fees)…Carl is still a defendant in a massive federal lawsuit against Amazon, and they accepted the deal so that they’d have money for attorneys’ fees…

To Molest and Rape (#989)

I won’t be surprised if his sentence is shorter than this:

Cynthia Perkins…faces 41 years in prison after taking a plea deal…in exchange for testifying against her [child rapist cop] ex-husband, Dennis…[who] manipulated…her…[in]to commit[ing]…horr[ible] crimes [ranging from rape to child porn to mixing his semen into cupcakes which she fed to her students]…Cynthia…could have faced 72 years in prison.  However, 68 of the remaining charges against her were dropped…she has no possibility of parole…and…waived any right to appeal…

What was the advantage to her in agreeing to what amounts to a life sentence without parole?  Does she honestly think she’ll have any kind of life after getting out of prison at 77, assuming she lives that long once the other prisoners figure out who she is and what she did?

Something Rotten in Sweden (#1112)

California’s annual anti-whore pogrom did a lot more damage this year, thanks to federal collaboration:

More than 200 sex workers were arrested as part of an [annual pogrom] that police [sell to the ignorant] as an attempt to save people from human trafficking.  The arrests—part of a Super Bowl-adjacent collaboration between Los Angeles law enforcement and the feds—represent an all too common theme in U.S. law enforcement, where people claim to be helping sex workers while actually subjecting them to harm.  The…[pogrom is] christened with the creepy name “Operation Reclaim and Rebuild”…now in its seventh year…[Pigs merrily oinking about all the lives they ruined were] joined by representatives of…Morality in Media…214 people were arrested for allegedly selling sex and 201 people were arrested for allegedly trying to pay for sex…only 53 people were arrested for pimping, pandering, or supervising prostitution. And it’s unclear if any of these individuals were engaged in anything that we might think of as abusive or non-consensual behavior…most of the arrests—445—were for misdemeanors…

To Molest and Rape (#1142)

Imagine how many others like this are still out there, raping and murdering:

The suspect in a 1983 cold case murder is…a [cop] who worked in several counties…in Central Florida.  St. Lucie County…cold case squad found evidence that [dead] deputy James Harrison raped and murdered an 11-year-old girl…[and] could be responsible for more unsolved cases.  He died of cancer in 2008…11-year-old Lora Ann Huizar disappeared while walking home from a gas station.  She was found in a nearby drainage ditch.  Detectives… believe [Harrison] kidnapped, raped and killed her…witness[es] report[ed that]…Harrison [was] watching the girl…[Sheriff Ken] Mascara…[claims] he was concerned at the time that Harrison showed a pattern of inappropriate behavior with young girls…his complaint w[as dismissed by a]…supervisor [who opined] that, since Harrison was also a preacher, he was “spiritually mentoring children at risk”…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1182)

Still think this djinni can be crammed back into its bottle?

The facial recognition company Clearview AI is telling investors it is on track to have 100 billion facial photos in its database within a year, enough to ensure “almost everyone in the world will be identifiable”…Those images — equivalent to 14 photos for each of the 7 billion people on Earth — would help power a surveillance system that has been used [to abduct] and [terrorize many] thousands of [people by cops, spooks,] and [other] government [operatives] around the world.  And the company wants to expand beyond…[fascist operations to purely corporate ones], saying in the presentation that it could monitor “gig economy” workers and is researching a number of new technologies that could identify someone based on how they walk, detect their location from a photo or scan their fingerprints from afar…With $50 million from investors, the company said, it could bulk up its data collection powers to 100 billion photos, build new products, expand its international sales team and pay more toward [buy]ing…poli[ticians so as] to “develop favorable regulation”…

Creepy Coppers

The only thing cops seem to love as much as raping kids is collecting kiddie porn:

In less than two weeks, two Sioux Falls [South Dakota cops]…have been arrested for child pornography…On Wednesday, February 16, Matthew Alan Jock was…charged with five counts…and…on February 8…Luke Schauer, a[nother typical and representative cop], was…[charged with] “attempted production”…[spokespigs fell all over themselves to distance themselves from the pair and oink about “bad apples”]…

Meanwhile, a few states to the southeast:

Ohio…[cop] Kevin A. Kovacs…pleaded guilty…to transporting and possessing child pornography…between April 2015 and July 2017, Kovacs uploaded more than 300 images and 2,200 videos depicting child pornography to his Dropbox account.  Videos featured the sexual abuse of children as young as toddler aged.  One video depicted a toddler…whose arms and legs were bound by black tape…In total…Kovacs possessed more than 780 images and 5,100 videos of child pornography…[his] plea…includes an agreed upon sentencing range of 60 to 240 months in prison…

The Mob Rules (#1209)

Until SCOTUS acts, this will only get worse:

A Texas-style abortion law is advancing in Idaho…SB 1309…would authorize the father, aunt, uncle, grandparent, or sibling of a fetus aborted after [fetal cardiac activity can be detected] to file a civil lawsuit against the doctor at any time up to four years after the abortion, and get $20,000 minimum damages plus attorney fees…”It’s unconstitutional on its face,” state Sen. Grant Burgoyne…said. “I think that the state of Idaho is in for another rough ride on…abortion litigation, and an expensive ride, and an unconstitutional ride”…

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I see the [police] as a threat rather than as a shield.  –  an Irish sex worker

Do As I Say, Not As I Do (#830)

Woman who made a career in non-consensually harming people thinks being a sex worker is shameful:

A Colorado s[ow] retired with a $30,000 separation agreement instead of facing an internal investigation over [her] OnlyFans page…Melissa Williams…was [a state thug] for 28 years, spending the last [few] years [tormenting human beings locked in cages]…She had the OnlyFans account for 18 months without any problems, but then coworkers found out and a [fellow sow squealed on her]…Williams [denied]…being a sex worker…[apparently believing that being] pa[id for porn is not]…sex…[work if you happen to be a state employed thug who is not wearing her magical clown costume at the time, or something]…

This case also bears a few similarities to that of Kristen Hyman, who left a job inflicting violence consensually for one where she could inflict it non-consensually.

Moving Pictures (#906) 

I wonder how many more Reefer Madness-style fakeumentaries we’ll see before the final implosion?

The Wayne County [Michigan] Medical Society Foundation produced a [bizarre, fact-free propaganda film promoting popular fantasies about] Human Sex Trafficking and pornography [with the rather clumsy title]…Men Who Buy Sex—Everybody Pays…It is the goal and mission of the Wayne County Medical Society Foundation to [push for the dangerous, destructive Swedish model]…The[y]…previously produced [a similar propaganda film entitled]…Stuck In Traffic: Modern-Day Slavery In Michigan.  This film is geared to high school and college students to [indoctrinate] them [i]n [pro-police state sex panic]…Th[e]…film highlights [professional “]survivor[“]…Theresa Flores

The Course of a Disease (#1074)

Just as sex workers said would happen before this terrible law was imposed:

Ireland’s decision to criminalise prostitution is “facilitating” harassment of sex workers and violent attacks against them, a scathing new report has found.  Research carried out by Amnesty International warned [Swedish-style criminalization inflicted] in 2017 was driving sex workers to put their lives at risk in a desperate bid to dodge the police…

To Molest and Rape (#1153)

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

A [typical and representative] Newport [Washington cop]…sexual[ly] abuse[d]…a minor under the age of 16…Raul Lopez was [paid by the state to stalk, harass, and spy on students]…at the Newport Unified School District…[but he raped the girl] in Bonner County, Idaho…

A Woman’s Point of View (#1192)

This is why we can’t have nice things:

An advocacy group seeking to decriminalize sex work through a ballot initiative withdrew its petition Jan. 21.  “We are fully committed to decriminalizing and destigmatizing sex work in Oregon,” [said] Anne Marie Bäckstöm, political director of the Sex Worker Rights campaign…“We withdrew Initiative Petition 42 to take a chance and tweak and improve the policy”…Aaron Boonshoft, the chief petitioner whom the campaign describes as “an Oregon philanthropist, an advocate of human rights, and a client of legal, consensual sex work,” made the decision to withdraw…

The Mob Rules (#1198)

Until SCOTUS acts, this will only get worse:

The…Texas [abortion ban]…allows private citizens to sue abortion providers or people who help a [woman]…get an abortion after six weeks’ gestation, but…a bill proposed in New Hampshire…would let…[a man] claim[ing] to be the…“biological father”…go to court and request an injunction that would prohibit the…[mother]…from getting an abortion…successful [plaintiffs]…would need to cover all prenatal medical expenses not covered by insurance and pay $250 a month for “adequate nutrition”—though notably that support ends…[after] birth.  If the pregnant [woman] doesn’t show up to the hearing, the judge would grant an automatic injunction blocking the abortion—no exceptions.  If they get an abortion anyway the court could hold them in “civil or criminal contempt,” without listing specific penalties…

Thought Control (#1200)

There is nothing as contagious as a bad idea:

Ridgeland [Mississippi] Mayor Gene McGee is [illegally] withholding $110,000 of funding from the Madison County Library System…on the basis of his personal religious beliefs…he has demanded that the system initiate a purge of LGBTQ+ books before his office releases the money…the library director…explained to the mayor that the library system, as a public entity, was not a religious institution…[but] the mayor [is a power-mad fanatic]…the library…board…asked Bob Sanders, counsel for the library board, if the mayor had any legal authority to override the contract with the library system and the decision of the aldermen.  “Uh, no.” Sanders said flatly…

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