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Posts Tagged ‘Kansas’

In the News (#1356)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 19, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Parents…are…capable of deciding for themselves what bibs are welcome…as a gift at their baby showers.  –  Walter Olson

If Men Were Angels

Tennessee has a disturbingly high number of such incidents:

Videos of the rapes of 10 unconscious boys were found on the cellphone of a Tennessee soccer coach after he left it behind at a restaurant…Camilo Hurtado Campos…was booked on allegations of child rape and sexual exploitation of a minor…”During off-hours, Campos frequented nearby school playgrounds…where he approached kids and recruited them as players on his team…After gaining their trust, Campos invited many of the kids to his home where he drugged and then raped them”…

Here’s another one:

Top leaders at…[the] Apostolic Christian Academy…of Maryville [Tennessee]…knew of at least two separate times…teacher Joseph “Kade” Abbott se[xted]…a 14-year-old girl [student]…but he was allowed to maintain contact with students…Abbott was suspended both times, but Apostolic leaders did not notify the parents of the girl about the messages, nor is there any evidence…they [called the cops]…Abbott al[so] sexually assaulted her multiple times, including in a stairwell of a Gatlinburg hotel while he was chaperoning students on an overnight trip.  He is now facing criminal charges…

The Widening Gyre (#1145) 

The “Facebook pimps” myth has gone from merely silly to completely pathetic:

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody is demanding Mark Zuckerberg e[nable his weird sexual fantasies about] human trafficking across Meta platforms after a…[creepy internet fantasy about] pedophiles [magically sucking children into the computer via Facebook’s so-called “]metaverse[“].  Moody sent a letter to Zuckerberg Monday, [attemp]ting [to recruit] the CEO [into bolstering his political ambitions by pret]end[ing] human trafficking on sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp…is [an actual] public safety threat [rather than the pro-censorship copaganda it is]…

Thought Control (#1250)

Politicians are no longer satisfied with merely censoring libraries and the internet:

Republican attorneys general from seven states signed a letter…to Target…[absurdly claim]ing clothes and merchandise sold as part of…Pride month campaigns could violate their state’s child protection laws...[politicians] from Indiana, Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and South Carolina signed the letter, [blovia]ting [that] they were “concerned by recent events involving the company’s ‘Pride’ campaign”…[and belching nonsense about] “protecting children” from “content that [magically] sexualizes them,” including obscenity laws.  The letter also [bizarrely claim]s Target may be breaching the law by making decisions that are allegedly…not in the best interests of its shareholders, citing it as a violation of the company’s fiduciary duty…

The Prudish Giant (#1263) 

Why does anyone still trust Facebook?

A Nebraska mother pleaded guilty…to giving her 17-year-old daughter pills for an…abortion [politicians wanted to deny her] last year and helping to burn and bury the [remains of the] fetus.  Under a plea agreement, Jessica Burgess…admitted to providing an abortion after 20 weeks of gestation, false reporting and tampering with human skeletal remains…Celeste Burgess, now 18, was charged as an adult and pleaded guilty in May to removing, concealing or abandoning a dead body…She faces up to two years in prison [for daring to exert control over her own body in defiance of the State]…the two [foolishly] discussed terminating the pregnancy [over Facebook, which eagerly handed]…the messages [over to the pigs]…

Torture Chamber (#1322)

Your “leaders” refer to this as “correction”:

The RCMP are launching a confidential hotline to assist with their investigation into…[rapes and other] sexual abuse at the Nova Scotia [Teenage Cagestack] between 1988 and 2017.  Police…have already taken statements from more than 70 people who…were [raped and sexually] abused at the…jail in Waterville, N.S., but believe there could be up to 200 in total.  They ask…anyone with relevant information about the case…to come forward…to date, all 70…[victims] have been male, but police…are not ruling out that girls could also have been abused…

Thought Control (#1331)

Just keep plunging that ice pick in; the bad thoughts will go away eventually:

Gerard Kleinsmith [pretend]s he hates the idea of censorship…[yet] wants to pull the lease for the city’s public library because he doesn’t like books about transgender people…He is supported in this stance by the other members of St. Marys’ five-person city commission, a heavily religious group that attends the Society of St. Pius X…a…[heretical sect]…that broke away from the Catholic church…The public library…narrowly surviv[ed] an attempt to pull the lease at the end of last year…“We’re not part of the city structure and the lease agreement is the only leverage that they have seemed to be able to find,” [library director Judith] Cremer said…the library…would be forced to shift locations if the lease isn’t renewed, giving up a community spot it has held for decades…

A Moral Cancer (#1334)

Because obviously prohibition doesn’t ruin enough lives yet:

New York Mayor Eric Adams has gone to federal court to stop the sale of flavored e-cigarettes, [spouting the puritanical drivel that they are intended specifically to] appeal to kids…The mayor a[lso made the bizarre and specious claim] that some of the vape products are equal to between 175 and 350 single cigarettes.  The suit was filed against four distributors…and…[pigs have] already [stolen] many thousands of dollars worth of those products [from the companies.  Adams’ cronies vomited out other lies and propaganda, and]…the suit [absurdly] accuses the distributors of violating a host of city, state and federal laws, including the federal RICO statutes…

 

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 (#1348)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 17, 2023| Leave a Comment »

The government’s request…is ballsy, bonkers, and an egregious overreach.  –  Elizabeth N. Brown

Surplus Women

Your “leaders” want this to happen more often:

80-year-old…John Apelgren…[has been] accused of murdering Eileen Cotter in Highbury in 1974 when he was 31.  Advances in DNA profiling led to a breakthrough in the cold case as Apelgren’s DNA was found to match samples from Eileen’s mouth and anus…22-year-old Eileen was a sex worker who was found lying face down half naked in front of some garages…on June 1, 1974.  Apelgren is alleged to have had sex with Eileen, then attacked and strangled her…

Above the Law

Your “leaders” at work:

A…[typical and representative politician named Matthew R. Reilly] in Rhode Island who was arrested earlier this month after a…[cop] found him asleep in his car with a crack pipe and a lighter in his hand is behind bars again…for…sexually assaulting and molesting a child…

Creepy Coppers (#1109)

The people the government empowers to police your sexuality:

…42 women, including 10 minors, plan to file lawsuits against the West Virginia State Police…[because] hidden…cameras were placed and operated inside the female locker room at the State Police Academy…female [molestation grooming] program attendees accessed and used the…locker room…during the time the…cameras were in use….taping of [women at] the Academy did not end until 2020, the same time the [grooming] Program was discontinued…

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

Like Houses (#1129)

Government can always be counted on to use any excuse to expand tyranny:

…censorship during the pandemic…became a popular pastime among functionaries convinced they are the embodiment of science—or, at least, the arbiters of truth…the state and social media companies [conspired] to muzzle voices not just in the U.S., but also…in the U.K.  “A secretive government unit worked with social media companies…to curtail discussion of controversial lockdown policies during the pandemic,” The Telegraph reported June 2.  “The Counter-Disinformation Unit (CDU) was set up by ministers to tackle supposed domestic ‘threats’, and was used to target those critical of lockdown…[who] had posts removed from social media…[or] stop[ped from] being promoted, circulated or widely shared after being flagged by the CDU”…Among those [censored]…were prominent epidemiologists and medical researchers who challenged official data and restrictive policies.  Activists who opposed lockdowns were also targeted.  The Telegraph, a prominent newspaper which has run articles skeptical of pandemic authoritarianism, was itself singled out.  Implicated in monitoring content and penalizing dissent at the behest of government officials were companies including Facebook, Google, Twitter (under the old management), and the BBC…

Eggs and Bacon

Kansas politicians want to circumvent the will of the voters:

Abortion providers [have] sued Kansas…over a law enacted this year and…a decades-old requirement that patients wait 24 hours after first seeing a provider to terminate their pregnancies…the…[new] law…will require providers to [lie, claiming] a medication abortion can be stopped using a regimen that major medical groups have called unproven and potentially dangerous.  The lawsuit…argues that Kansas has created a “Biased Counseling Scheme” designed to discourage patients from getting abortions and to stigmatize patients who [do, pointing out]…that the requirements have become “increasingly absurd and invasive” over time and spread medical misinformation…in August [Kansas voters] decisively affirmed abortion rights, refusing to overturn a state Supreme Court decision three years earlier that declared access to abortion a matter of bodily autonomy and a fundamental right under the state constitution…[thus preventing] Kansas [politicians from] greatly restrict[ing] or ban[ning] abortion…

Dangerous Speech (#1345)

Just when you thought the wildly-incompetent, shockingly-illegal, and wholly tyrannical prosecution of the former owners of Backpage couldn’t sink any lower:

In a series of motions…the government seeks to prevent the Backpage defendants’ legal team from making basically any reasonable attempt to defend against the charges against them.  Most egregiously, prosecutors want to bar them from mentioning the First Amendment…and “free speech” at any time in the presence of the jury…they [also] want to legally prohibit the Backpage team’s lawyers from arguing that the ads [they hosted] were not illegal…[from] referenc[ing] Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act…[from] defend[ing] themselves against accusations that they knew they were breaking the law by pointing out that Backpage lawyers repeatedly assured them they were not breaking the law…[from] point[ing] out that…the [government demanded they]…charge for ads because this would create a financial paper trail…from commenting on the legitimacy of the prosecution and or any tactics employed by prosecutors; from referencing the 2021 trial that was declared a mistrial because of the government’s conduct; or from mentioning previous legal cases where courts ruled in Backpage’s favor…it [also wants to ban] references to…the defendants’ families, to the defendants’ personal lives, [or] to Lacey and Larkin’s extensive history in the journalism industry…in other words, the defendants may not attempt to humanize themselves…

Torture Chamber (#1347) 

New York prison bureaucrats are determined that as little information as possible get out about the conditions in their cages:

…the agency that runs New York’s prisons is set to block…incarcerated writers, artists, and poets from getting their work outside prison walls.  Last month, the agency quietly handed down new rules severely curtailing what incarcerated writers and artists can publish — and forbidding them from getting paid for it.  The…directive, which went into effect on May 11, establishes a stringent, months-long approval process for people in its c[ages] to publish creative work, including books, art, music, poetry, film scripts, and other writing.  It gives prison superintendents the power to block work from publication if it violates any of a number of [vague] rules — including bans on mentioning the artist or author’s crime and portraying [prisons, screws and bureaucrats honestly]…

 

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 (#1337)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 10, 2023| Leave a Comment »

She was looking for…content for her name and her income, and at our expense.  –  Sadie Martinez

You Were Warned (#1170)

Prohibitionists, censors and profiteers will continue to harass businesses thus until FOSTA is overturned:

The…9th Circuit has dismissed a lawsuit that accused Twitter of participating in a sex trafficking venture.  The suit—which invoked…FOSTA…was brought by two John Does and…Morality in Media…The 9th Circuit [recently]…found Reddit not guilty of sex trafficking in similar circumstances to this case…

The Widening Gyre (#1230)

Another sign that the moral panic is largely over:

…Katie Sorensen…posted a video that was viewed more than 4 million times in which she [pretend]ed that two strangers tried to grab her young children outside a store in Petaluma, California…Following the video, the accused couple, Sadie and Eddie Martinez, recognised themselves in a photo and came forward to strongly deny the claims…Sorensen was convicted of making a false report of a crime and…faces a jail sentence of between six months and one year.  Sorensen’s lawyer says that his client did not lie to the police[, but rather was just stupid and hysterical]…

You Were Warned (#1292)

These attempts to destroy the internet are just going to keep getting worse:

Congress has resurrected the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), a bill that would increase surveillance and restrict access to information [under the pretext] of protecting children online…its latest version…would still require surveillance of anyone sixteen and under…[and] put the tools of censorship in the hands of state attorneys general, and would greatly endanger the rights, and safety, of young people online.  And KOSA’s burdens will affect adults, too, who will likely face hurdles to accessing legal content online as a result of the bill…KOSA would make platforms liable for the content they show minors, full stop.  It will be based on vague requirements that any Attorney General could, more or less, make up…

The Mob Rules (#1307)

Websites targeted by a censorship bill are trying to turn the power of the mob back on politicians:

Pornhub…disabled access to its platform from all Utah IP addresses, in response to the state’s latest anti-porn law…The LDS church…considers all pornography to be a ploy by “the adversary” (i.e., Satan) specifically created to destroy Mormon families by tempting male heads of households.  In addition to cutting off access to its content for Utah-based IP addresses, Pornhub…replac[ed] its landing page for those addresses with an SFW video in which [adult performer] Cherie DeVille explains the reasons for the content restriction…

Predictably, searches for VPNs immediately surged in Utah.

The Last Shall Be First (#1322) 

The “bathroom bill” political fad is back after a three-year hiatus:

Kansas has passed what has been described as the “broadest” anti-trans bathroom bill in the United States…overturn[ing] a previous veto by governor Laura Kelly, who has continually spoken out against anti-trans legislation…the…bill…bans trans and intersex women from toilets, changing rooms and prison facilities that align with their gender, as well as…defini[ng]…a female [for purposes of the law a]s a person who produces “ova”…meaning cis women who are infertile and are unable to produce eggs [w]ould [technically be] barred from spaces…

The Mob Rules (#1323)

This is exactly what those who passed this bill wanted:

A countersuit has been filed by two of three women who were named in a [nuisance] lawsuit by a [Texas] man…who alleged they conspired to help his then-wife obtain an abortion.  [According to the]…suit…Marcus Silva…[was] emotionally abusive…to…Brittni Silva, who is now his ex-wife…He subjected her to verbal abuse and manipulative behavior…[such as] hid[ing] her car keys to prevent her from leaving their house…Brittni determined she needed a divorce…[but] continued to live [with Marcus] and in July 2022, [he] went through [her] purse and phone and discovered one of two pills used for a medication abortion.  He put the pill back into her purse, [then went through her phone to find the text messages]…to…Jackie and Amy…He filed a police report on July 18, 2022…admitting he…knew about the pregnancy before it was terminated…

To Molest and Rape (#1334)

Your “leaders” sometimes refer to child molestation as “community support”:

A [typical and representative Surrey cop] has been jailed for six years for “abhorrent” child sex offences.  William Redwood…admitted 33 charges in[volv]ing [molestation and] making…and distributing…child [porn of both]…boys and girls between the ages of 12 and 17…from 2016 to 2020…

At other times, they call it “correction”:

A[n Oregon screw] has been charged…with repeatedly molesting a child in Salem over a [recent] four-month period…Cenobio Jauregui…sexually abused a [relative] under 14 years old…five times between December…and April…

And at still other times, they call it what it is, but treat it like no big deal:

A [typical and representative Minnesota cop named]…Eric Gramentz…was sentenced…to…a…[mere] 90 days in jail, followed by 25 years of supervised probation…[in addition to the] year [he has been caged] since his arrest.  He also received a stayed sentence of 12 years…that he would likely have to serve if he violates any of the terms of his probation…[which] include attending a sex offender program and not having any unsupervised contact with any minors.  He’ll also have to register as a predatory offender…[his] victim…was [only] 11 or 12 years old [when the abuse began]…

 

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

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Links #669

Posted in Current Events, Links, Miscellaneous, Obituary, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 29, 2023| Leave a Comment »

The gang list is absolutely asinine.  –  Tracey Mason

In observance of May Eve, here’s another Lovecraft video from the creators I featured last week; the humor in this one is both drier and darker, and does not entirely override the horror concept at the core of the story.  The links above it were provided by Walter Olson, Mike Siegel, Lucy Steigerwald, Greg Lukianoff, Cop Crisis (x2), and Radley Balko, in that order.

From the Archives

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

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Links #668

Posted in Current Events, Links, Miscellaneous, Obituary, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 23, 2023| Leave a Comment »

You have to physically take their phones…because [otherwise]…they’re just too tempted to play chess.  –  Justine Wewers

One of the great things about the internet is that it’s a lot easier to share fan-made films than it used to be; here (just in time for May Eve) is a funny little Lovecraft video from creators we’ve seen here before; next week I’ll share another one.  The links above the video were provided by Clarissa, Mike Siegel (x2), Radley Balko, and Cop Crisis (x2).

From the Archives

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

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In the News (#1326)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 1, 2023| Leave a Comment »

I’ve been told to respond, “I respectfully decline to answer”.
–  April Rogers

Welcome To Our World (January Updates)

Sows just love fantasy role-playing as sex workers in order to harm people:

[In the summer of 2020, a] young woman with long pink hair [who] claimed to be from Washington state…walked into the Chinook Center, a community space for left-wing activists in Colorado Springs…and offered to volunteer.  She…said her name was Chelsie…[and] implied…that she was a sex worker…But Chelsie’s identity was as fake as her long pink hair.  The young woman, whose real name is April Rogers, is a [cop whom]…the FBI enlisted…to infiltrate and spy on racial justice groups…The work of Rogers…is a direct offshoot of the FBI’s summer of 2020 [scheme] in Denver, where Mickey Windecker, a paid FBI informant…rose to a leadership role in the racial justice movement, and encouraged activists to become violent…Once Rogers gained trust among the activists, she tried to set up at least two young men in gun-running conspiracies.  Her tactics mirrored those of Windecker, who tried to entrap two Denver racial justice activists in crimes, including an FBI-engineered plot to assassinate Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser that went nowhere…

The Truth About “The Truth About…”

This is the first time I’ve seen a woman falsely accused of rape:

A deputy U.S. marshal was found guilty of plotting to frame his former fiancée for attempted rape of his wife.  Ian Diaz…faces as long as 20 years in prison…[because he] and his then-wife created phony email and social media accounts in the name of Jane Doe, his former fiancée, and used these to send each other messages with graphic threats to rape and kill his then-wife.  They also posted ads on Craigslist to lure men to enact “rape fantasies” with his then-wife, and when the men showed up at their condo, they called the police and claimed that Jane Doe was responsible…As a result, Jane Doe was arrested and spent almost three months in prison…Diaz…was [angry at]…Doe…[for refusing to keep quiet about the fact] that he had raped and abused her during their relationship…

Torture Chamber

This will continue until journalists stop obediently referring to senseless violence as “correction”:

A [man who] was [violently] assaulted without provocation by [Suffolk County NY screws] last year…[has filed] a $69 million lawsuit…Wilson Cantarero Lopez…had to undergo emergency surgery to save his life…on March 25, 2022, a day after the beating [was inflict]ed…[because his] large intestine was [ruptured in] the assault…while serving [a short] sentence [for violating a court order]…15…[screws crowded in]to his cell…[and] six of the[m]…beat and kicked [him for no reason other than petty sadism, then]…strapped [him] into a [torture] chair…for…90 minutes…[while he was] gagging on his blood and struggling to breathe…Cantarero Lopez was hospitalized for 10 days before he was [locked in a cage until]…May 24.  Cantarero Lopez is unable to work due to the injuries…

Crying for Nanny (#1037)

Ambulance-chasers don’t care who gets hurt as long as they make a bundle:

A federal court says that sex-trafficking lawsuits against JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank can go forward.  In three separate but similar suits, the two banks are being accused of knowingly benefiting from sex trafficking by allowing Jeffrey Epstein…to bank with them…these suits…suggest that mere allegations against someone should warrant financial institutions canceling their accounts—something…likely to hamper a person’s ability to defend themselves in court.  A society where private businesses must reject anyone accused of crimes or face criminal liability themselves is perverse, frightening, and antithetical to civil liberties…This…risks giving regulators, politicians, and private busybodies a way to shut entire industries out of legal banking systems…without having to…prove any criminal action…[profiteers] are trying to move beyond holding actual perpetrators—who tend not to have very deep pockets—accountable and instead penalize deep-pocketed third parties…[which could] prompt hotels, social media platforms, software companies, and others to reject (or call the cops on) all sorts of people…merely because they look “suspicious” or seem like they’re engaging in any sexual activity at all…

A Broker in Pillage (#1196)

Airports are among cops’ favorite places to lurk in order to rob people:

The trucker who had $39,500 [stol]en by police in August 2020 at Sky Harbor Airport has finally gotten his money back.  Jerry Johnson had traveled to [Phoenix] with a large amount of cash to [bu]y…a truck he needed for his business.  But Phoenix police s[tole] his money before he could get to the auction, [belch]ing…[out the magic words] “drug courier” [in order to sanctify their crime]…Johnson has spent the last couple of years fighting the [robbery] in court and his lawyers said he’s recently gotten back his money….The Institute for Justice represented…him…

The Punitive Mindset (#1294) 

This evil fascist scheme needs to be eradicated, root and branch:

A new lawsuit is challenging a California county jail’s policy of digitizing and then destroying all physical mail received by incarcerated people—part of a national trend of prisons and jails restricting inmates’ ability to receive physical mail.  The lawsuit…by Columbia University’s Knight First Amendment Institute, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), and the Social Justice Legal Foundation, argues that [any]…ban on physical mail “violates the expressive, associational, privacy, and religious rights of the individuals in its jails, including those presumed innocent, and of the many individuals who send mail to those incarcerated people”…[these policies are pretended to] reduc[e] contraband…[but] the overwhelming majority is smuggled in by staff…[and] depriving inmates of a vital source of comfort and connection to the outside world [actually increases drug problems]…”Following statewide adoption of MailGuard in Pennsylvania, the drug test positivity rate actually increased,” the lawsuit says…”[in] Missouri…the [average] number of…overdoses…increased from thirty-one to thirty-seven per month.  And in New Mexico…the drug test positivity rate nearly doubled”…

To Molest and Rape (#1312)

Always the fixation on the magical clown costume:

[A] Wichita [Kansas cop named]…Brock England [was arrested in Oklahoma for]…sexual[ly] abus[ing]…a child younger than 12…England has been [rewarded with a paid vacation]…

 

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 (#1309)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 1, 2023| 1 Comment »

First let’s distinguish between a sin and a crime.  –  Pope Francis

The Immunity Syndrome (#833)

The tone of this article is remarkably restrained; it doesn’t even use the phrase “super gonorrhea”:

Public health [bureaucrat]s says they have found two cases of gonorrhea that appear to have reduced susceptibility to every kind of antibiotic available…It’s the first time strains of gonorrhea this resistant to antibiotics have been identified in the United States…Dr. Jeffrey Klausner…[of USC said] “It’s a reminder that gonorrhea is becoming…increasingly hard to treat…We haven’t had new antibiotics to treat gonorrhea for years and we really need a different treatment strategy”…

Providing a proper sex education to teenagers, the primary vectors for STI transmission in the US, might be a good start.

Peeping Toms (#871)

There is nothing contradictory about this:

Pope Francis criticized laws that criminalize homosexuality as “unjust,” saying God loves all his children just as they are and called on Catholic bishops who support the laws to welcome LGBTQ people into the church.  “Being homosexual isn’t a crime,” Francis said…and he himself referred to the issue in terms of “sin”.  But…these…comments …are the first uttered by a pope about such laws…are…consistent with his…belief that the Catholic Church should welcome everyone…Francis’ remarks come ahead of a trip to Africa, where such laws are common, as they are in the Middle East.  Many date from British colonial times or are inspired by Islamic law…

Droit du Seigneur (#1183)

Better cops escape consequences than this ugly narrative be reinforced yet again:

A Virginia jury rejected claims by a Costa Rican woman who accused a police chief and three o[ther pig]s of conspiring to protect a sex-trafficking ring…[the] jury in[stead]…found that the woman was not a victim of trafficking but a [mundane] sex worker….Police Chief Edwin Roessler…[and his underlings] James Baumstark…Michael Barbazette and Jason Mardocco….protected the [escort service, but the claims of] human trafficking…were [bogus and largely followed the typical script, including]…claim[s]…of…17 [clients] a day and that Sanchez kept…her passport…Defense lawyers pointed out that the woman [repeatedly] traveled [home] to Costa Rica between 2010 and 2015 and returned to Sanchez each time….”She’s willing to say whatever it takes to get what she wants in that moment,” [said defense lawyer] Kim Baucom…

The jury reached the same conclusion I did the first time I heard the story, and I wrote about people credulously accepting this woman’s claims in “Taking the Bait“.  While I certainly sympathize with wanting to see cops suffer consequences for their behavior, the “sex trafficking” paradigm will never die as long as opportunists are rewarded every time they invoke it.

To Molest and Rape (#1257)

Give aggressive thugs power over teen girls; what could possibly go wrong?

[A London cop named] Hussain Chehab…pleaded guilty to [repeatedly molesting teenage girls the government had paid him to harass at school, and also]…making [sexual] photographs of [his victims]…Chehab’s offending came to light in July 2021 when the family of a 16-year-old girl raised concerns…that…he…was [molesting their daughter]…The…offences [we]re…all the more [predictable because]…Chehab was [paid by the government to lurk] in…schools [to spy on, harass, and terrorize the students]…

It’s sad that the UK has adopted the school-to-prison pipeline from the US.

The Last Shall Be First (#1299) 

It looks like Florida is aping Texas again:

…Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is asking state universities for the number and ages of their students who sought or received gender dysphoria treatment, including sex reassignment surgery and hormone prescriptions…Why he’s conducting the survey wasn’t completely clear[, but Texas did something similar last summer]…

The Last Shall Be First (#1304) 

Trans people have become another canary in the civil rights coal mine:

…Legislation in Oklahoma and South Carolina would make it a felony to provide hormonal or surgical transition treatment to transgender people younger than 26…Other bills in both states, and in Kansas  and Mississippi, would ban such care up to age 21.  And bills in more than a dozen states would ban it for minors, which Arkansas was the first to do in 2021…A bill in Mississippi…would define sex as immutably set at birth, denying transgender identities under state law.  A measure in West Virginia would define “any transvestite and/or transgender exposure, performances or display” as obscene, potentially outlawing transgender people’s presence around children…

Unsafe for Human Consumption (#1306)

The way local media parrots copaganda in the face of clear evidence of its foolishness is utterly pathetic:

The Illinois State Police…has tested…substance[s that triggered panic attacks in a gang of screws, and]…the test came back negative for narcotics or hazardous materials…[despite] the [clowns wasting] Narcan…[and whining all the way to the] hospital…Everyone [who had a panic attack]…has been discharged [and the substance they thought was magical insta-fentanyl]…was [in fact] baby powder…the…department [of locking humans in cages] has [tried to save face by bloviating nonsense about]…further investigation [being] needed to explain the…symptoms [of panic attack]…

 

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

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Links #653

Posted in Current Events, History, Links, Miscellaneous, Music, Obituary, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 9, 2023| Leave a Comment »

I wanted him to have a positive view of police…we ended up going to [the] emergency room.  –  Shelia Jackson

I hadn’t realized that classical Greece had an early form of pipe organ, the hydraulis; thanks to Genya for drawing my attention to this recording of a reconstructed example of the instrument.  The links above the video were provided by Mike Siegel, Amy Alkon, Cop Crisis (x3), Dan Savage, and Lenore Skenazy, in that order.

From the Archives

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

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In the News (#1291)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Obituary, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 23, 2022| 3 Comments »

You can’t win an unwinnable war.  –  José Irizarry

R.I.P. Carol Leigh

Carol Leigh, one of the leading figures of the US sex worker movement (she was the person who actually coined the term “sex work”) has died at 71 after a 7-year battle with uterine cancer.  Carol became involved in activism just a year after she became a sex worker in 1977, and was involved in nearly every aspect  of the movement throughout the ’80s, ’90s, and Oughts; even later she was always happy to give advice and guidance to younger activists like me.  She was so well-known that even the mainstream media (including the AP, the NewYork Times and the San Francisco Chronicle) published obituaries, but the title links to one by a sex-work-friendly reporter (albeit in a publication which can’t seem to make up its mind); I’ll also be linking memorial essays from those who knew her as they appear.

Perquisites

Are statists really so delusional they can’t grasp that this is inevitable when men are given this kind of power and privilege?

José Irizarry accepts that he’s known as the most corrupt agent in U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration history…[for] conspiring with Colombian cartels to build a lavish lifestyle of expensive sportscars, Tiffany jewels and [women] around the world.  But…Irizarry says he won’t go down for this alone, accusing some long-trusted DEA colleagues of joining him in skimming millions of dollars from drug money laundering stings to fund a decade’s worth of luxury overseas travel, fine dining, top seats at sporting events and frat house-style debauchery…federal agents, prosecutors, informants and in some cases cartel smugglers themselves were all in on the three-continent joyride known as “Team America” that chose cities for money laundering pick-ups mostly for party purposes or to coincide with Real Madrid soccer or Rafael Nadal tennis matches.  That included stops along the way in VIP rooms of Caribbean strip joints, Amsterdam’s red-light district and aboard a Colombian yacht that launched with plenty of booze and more than a dozen prostitutes…All this revelry was rooted, Irizarry said, in a…reali[stic assessment] among DEA agents…that there’s nothing they can do to make a dent in the drug war anyway…“We know we’re not making a difference…The drug war is…a very fun game that we were playing”…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1104)

Useful idiots destroying any possibility that the facial recognition djinni can ever be rebottled:

…public anxiety about crime seems to be peaking. Determined to [capitalize on hysteria in order to win]…votes), major cities including San Francisco, Chicago, and New Orleans are turning to…surveillance as a [pretend] solution.  This marks a big shift, especially for a city like San Francisco, which in 2019 became the first U.S. city to ban the use of facial recognition technology by…police.  Boston, Portland, Oakland, and Jackson, Mississippi, have since followed…But…the [public is fickle and fearful]…“We went from a long-term view to an extremely short-term view,” explained Tracy Rosenberg…[of] Oakland Privacy…“[concerns about] the end of public anonymity…ha[ve] largely been replaced by a narrative that [says]…the short-term implications on your life right now are more important than any sort of future surveillance state”…San Francisco’s…passed a policy that will allow [cops]…to [root through]…footage of private security cameras [without a warrant]…Cities…expanding the use of surveillance technology…risk entrenching a permanent surveillance infrastructure that may be difficult to dismantle down the road.  “The history of surveillance suggests that it’s not easy to put the genie back in the bottle,” argues Rosenberg.  One of the most high-profile examples of this dynamic comes out of New Orleans, where [politicians] are poised to expand police surveillance less than two years after passing a sweeping facial recognition ban…

Torture Chamber (#1186)

It’d be great if US cities could flush their toxic waste before somebody dies:

…Forks, Washington, will pay $1 million to settle a lawsuit…filed by the family of a young…woman who committed suicide in jail after being harassed by a guard with a long history of misconduct…John Gray…would later be convicted of sexually assaulting four other [helpless caged] women.  But when Kimberly Bender—a 23-year-old Quileute tribal member struggling with drug addiction and depression—tried to report Gray’s misconduct, the Forks jail [blew her off while Gray]…sexually torment[ed] her…[until] she…hanged herself in her cell…

Torture Chamber (#1189)

I’m sure they helpfully yelled “Stop faking!” at him as he died:

…Thousands die while locked [in cages by the State] each year…a third of [them]…are younger than 55, many suffering from untreated or poorly treated illnesses, with the prison healthcare system frequently deciding that treatments for common and debilitating ailments are not “medically necessary”…“If it’s not life-threatening in that moment…they put it off and tell you to…take ibuprofen,” said Tonya Wilson…an advocate with Freedom Project…[Clifford] Farrar, [a type I diabetic] who required four insulin shots a day, was initially given access to needles, test strips and a glucometer…But…prison…[bureaucrats in Washington state soon started refusing to pay] for…insulin supplies…and…on 27 December [of last year], Farrar…was found lying on the ground…with blood coming from his mouth…he…was declared dead 20 minutes later…the prison had repeatedly neglected his health, including by denying him supplies that could have prevented his seizures, failing to check on him when he did not arrive to get his insulin shot, and responding too slowly to his final emergency…

Creepy Coppers

Just another typical and representative cop:

A Chesapeake [Virginia cop named]…Timothy M. Newton…was charged with more than 20 felony child pornography offenses [after an unknown party snitched on him]…

To Molest and Rape (#1275)

This just keeps getting worse:

[Typical and representative] Kansas City [cop]…Roger Golubski…[faces charges of conspiring with] Cecil Brooks, LeMark Roberson and Richard Robinson…[to run a violent pimping scheme] from 1996 to 1998…Brooks, Roberson and Robinson all…used physical beatings, sexual assault and threats to compel the young women to provide sexual services to men…Golubski…accepted [bribes] from Brooks, provided protection from law enforcement, and forcibly raped a[t least one] young woman…

 

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

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Links #641

Posted in Current Events, Links, Miscellaneous, Music, Obituary, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on October 16, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[NYPD behavior is] nothing short of an extrajudicial campaign of terror and kidnapping.  –  Paul Phillips et al

It wasn’t easy choosing a song to honor the passing of Loretta Lynn, but I finally settled on this one because it’s representative of a recurring theme in her oeuvre, unwanted pregnancy, which is as timely now as it ever was (other examples include “One’s On the Way” and “Pregnant Again”).  The links above the video were provided by Cop Crisis; Mistress Matisse (x2); Jesse Walker; Mike Siegel and Phoenix Calida; Cop Crisis again; and Scott Greenfield, in that order.

From the Archives

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