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Posts Tagged ‘law’

In the News (#1565)

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

If [every single]…book…[in] public school libraries constitutes government speech, the State is babbling prodigiously and incoherently.  –  Frederick Sperling

If Men Were Angels

Another “youth pastor”, another distancing “former”:

A Jersey City pastor [named]…Robert Anthony…Langston…[repeatedly molested at least] two [boys under 15 while he was “youth pastor”] of Landmark Tabernacle in Denver…in [the late ’90s.  One of the]…victims…had an abusive situation at home…[and] was groomed…to…accompan[y] Langston and his wife as they evangelized across the U.S. and eventually settled in Jersey City…[where] he…continued to be “groped and assaulted” by the pastor after [2003]…he…was “very scared” to report the abuse because “the church is very anti-homosexuality.”  The second victim…[said] Langston…“appeared to prefer boys in the church who had absent fathers or were raised by their grandparents”…

To Molest and Rape

Some rapist cops are indiscriminate in their habits:

A [California cop named]…Juan Pensina…[has been] arrest[ed on numerous charges of forcible vaginal, anal, and oral rape, but also rewarded with a paid vacation]…Pensina [raped some of] the…victims while [wearing his magical clown costume] and…[some not, both in his pigmobile and] in…[other places]…

The Last Shall Be First (#1537)

What kind of warped mind thinks this is OK?

A Minnesota teen [has] filed a charge of discrimination against a Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant…after…a server followed her into the women’s restroom and demanded she “prove” she was a girl.  Gerika Mudra…[was harassed by the] server[, who]…banged on the stall door while saying, “This is a women’s restroom. The man needs to get out of here”…Mudra, a biracial lesbian who is not transgender, said she’s been in similar situations before…but…[this] woman [would not] leave her alone…[until] she unzipped her hoodie to show she has breasts.  The server didn’t say anything in response but left the restroom…

Thought Control (#1548)

Florida censors lose every challenge, but it doesn’t stop them:

A federal judge…struck down [most] of a Florida law that’s been used to remove [thousan]ds of books from public school libraries since it was enacted in 2023…Judge Carlos Mendoza…struck down…[provisions] that made it easier to challenge books if they included any sexual content…[so] the…[standard] reverts back to…the Miller Test…The 2023 law…[had exposed] educators…to…criminal penalties and los[s of] their teaching certificates if [any censorious Froot Loop chose to point at any book while barfing the word “]inappropriate[“]…As a result, Florida led the country in school book bans last year with 4,561 instances…State officials [horrifyingly] argued…that Florida was entitled to regulate books in public school libraries [because] such actions amounted to…“government speech”…

Mad Libs (#1550)

These algorithms are not only unintelligent; they are making those who use them less intelligent as well:

…doctors [who rely on chatbots can lose] skills after just a few months…a new study..[showed machine learning programs could] help…health professionals…detect pre-cancerous growths in the colon, but when the assistance was removed, their ability to find tumors dropped by about 20% compared with rates before the tool was ever introduced…[bureaucrats] around the world are…[trying to cram so-called “]AI[” in]to [healthcare systems] with a view to boosting…pro[fitabil]ity…[but] doctors [quickly] become over-reliant on its recommendations, “leading to clinicians becoming less motivated, less focused, and less responsible when making cognitive decisions without [computer interfere]nce,” the…paper [said]…Yuichi Mori…one of the scientists involved, predicted that the effects of de-skilling will “probably be higher” as [machine learning systems are crammed into more areas of expertise]…

Walled Garden

The open internet is becoming a thing of the past:

…age verification laws went into effect in Wyoming and South Dakota, requiring sites [any politician points at while barfing the formula] “material that is harmful to minors” to verify visitors are over 18 years old.  Th[is is not] just…two more states joining the nearly 30 that have [embraced]…invasive, ineffective methods of keeping kids away from porn online…[because] unlike the laws passed in other states, they don’t state that this applies only to sites with “33.3 percent” or one-third “harmful” material…which…opens a huge swath of sites to the [surveillance] burden…The same [pro-censorship gangs] that have lobbied for age verification laws…have also spent years targeting social media platforms…and…streaming services like Netflix, for hosting adult content…age-gating the entire internet only pushes adult consumers and [adolescents] alike into less-regulated…spaces and situations, while everyone just uses VPNs to get around gates…

The Cop Myth (#1562)

It’s too bad they don’t inflict all of their violence on each other:

Carlos Baker, the Chicago [cop] who [murdered] his partner Krystal Rivera…[has now] attacked a[nother] female [cop]…The [victim reported]…that Baker and another woman beat her [on August 10th] at [a] bar…[because she wouldn’t] delete [certain] videos taken on her cellphone…[she] escaped, with the help of others, and had a friend take her to [the] hospital…It’s not clear what’s on the videos…Officials…have referred to the shooting [of Rivera] as an accident, but [her] family has called for an outside investigation …[because] Rivera had been a key witness to the theft of a…gun…and [Baker may have wanted to silence her.  His]…career as a cop has been [characteriz]ed by disciplinary problems from the start, including a complaint…[due to his stalking] another…woman at a bar…[and threatening] her…[with] a gun…and…more than a dozen [other reports] of misconduct since joining the [pig herd] in December 2021…

 

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 (#1564)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 16, 2025| Leave a Comment »

When hotel owners face huge lawsuits and fines for failing to profile people, you’re going to end up with a lot of innocent people being harassed.  –  Elizabeth Nolan Brown

If Men Were Angels

No religion has a monopoly on preachy molesters:

A North Carolina pastor [named]…Kyle Lynn Sigmon [has been arrested and charged for sexually assaulting]…a 13-year-old girl in [the street in]…July 2024…

Even the distancing “former” is the same as for rapist cops:

…a [typical and representative Baltimore] youth pastor…has been charged [for] sex[ually]…abusing six boys…Thomas Pinkerton [dazzled the boys with pseudo-religious bullshit, such as telling them the molestation]…was a “heavenly kiss” and that’s how Jesus would greet his disciples…there’s [also] another victim in Georgia…

Crying for Nanny (#1013)

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

A hotel could be legally liable for [“]sex trafficking[“] because it failed to [call the cops on] a guest who wore “sexually explicit clothing” and had condoms in her room, according to a recent ruling from [federal] Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk…The lawsuit was brought by “J.H.” against Paramount Hospitality, a company that manages hotels…[pretending she is a passive object which] was trafficked for sex at a hotel owned and operated by Paramount…Kacsmaryk denied the hotel management company’s motion to dismiss…In a sane judicial system, sex traffickers would be the main entity held liable for sex trafficking…But [so-called “traffickers”, when they exist at all, don’t have as much money as]…third parties [such as hotels or ad websites]…such cases…rely on the idea that the hotels willfully ignored the “signs” of sex trafficking…[such as] her [having visitors to her] room and…”drug paraphernalia,” a gun, and “condoms” in her room…hotel maids come across condoms and drug paraphernalia all the time and aren’t running to hotel management every time they do…The implication from suits like these is that hotel staff need to regard all customers with suspicion and…call the cops if they see a woman who appears intoxicated or has men coming into her room…

The Next Target (#1523)

Politicians want total government control of both the internet and the financial system:

[German censorship] authorities want to force financial service providers to refuse payments to erotic portals [even though only]…adults [can have credit cards.  Censorship bureaucrat]…Marc Jan Eumann…[also wants control of] the Internet’s Domain Name System…[to] enforce…[otherwise] easy…to circumvent [network blocks]…Eumann [claims] studies have shown that pornography is more harmful to minors than…[police] violence…

Opting Out (#1539) 

It looks like British subjects will soon need a VPN to access Wikipedia:

…Wikipedia [has] lost a legal challenge to…Britain’s Online Safety Act, which [inflicts draconian demands on] online platforms and has been criticised for [installing a surveillance regime and] curtailing free speech…The foundation said if it was subject to so-called Category 1 duties – which would require Wikipedia’s users and contributors…[to be doxxed to the British government] it would need to drastically reduce the number of British users who can access the site.  Judge Jeremy Johnson dismissed [the] case [without prejudice, saying] the Wikimedia Foundation could bring a further challenge if [censorship bureau] Ofcom “(impermissibly) concludes that Wikipedia is a Category 1 service…[this decision] does not give Ofcom…a green light to implement a regime that would significantly impede Wikipedia’s operations”…

Aladdin’s Satellite (#1554)

Let’s hope many more states act quickly to protect vulnerable people from this evil nonsense:

Illinois…has signed a bill into law banning [scams using chatbots for] therapy…The law highlights that only licensed professionals are allowed to offer counseling services…and forbids [companies] or [individuals] from [pretending a chatbot can] act…as a stand-alone therapist…the…act…also specifies that licensed therapists cannot use [chatbots] to make “therapeutic decisions” or perform any “therapeutic communication”…use for “supplementary support,” such as managing appointments, billing or other administrative work, is allowed…companies or individuals fac[e] $10,000 in fines per violation…The legislation is particularly notable as the Trump [regime is demanding]…a 10-year moratorium on any state-level…regulation [of chatbots]…

Mad Libs (#1555)

These companies need to be bankrupted by lawsuits:

Renowned legal scholar Jonathan Turley [may seek damages from the makers of] ChatGPT [because the program] fabricat[ed] a damaging sexual harassment allegation against him, citing a fake university, trip, and article. The…chatbot…falsely claimed that Turley, who has never taught at Georgetown University, had made inappropriate advances toward a student during a fictional school-sponsored trip to Alaska in 2018…[the program even] cited a non-existent Washington Post article, claiming Turley made “sexually suggestive comments” and attempted to [molest] a student…the lack of any human accountability…is what makes such [chatbots] particularly dangerous…[there is as yet] no real avenue for victims of falsehoods to seek retraction or clarification…

The Cop Myth (#1563)

Cop deals with problems exactly as he was trained & encouraged to; reporter calls that “unusual”:

A…[typical and representative California cop murdered] his [screw] ex-girlfriend and then himself in a…[sadly-typical act of cop violence.  Pig]…Jeremy Lyle…fatally shot [screw] Mari Bonnici…[then] handed…an 8-month-old b[aby to a neighbor and told her to call 911 before driving] off in a truck…[and shooting himself after a multi-hour standoff with the SWAT team].  Police…found two 16-month-old twin girls in the back bedroom…None of the three children were injured and are being cared for by relatives…

 

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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Granddaughter of Throwback Thursday

Posted in Miscellaneous, Perception, Philosophy, The Dark Side, Tyranny, Words, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 14, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[Though] practical gifts…may not be the stuff of male fantasy like fancy lingerie and expensive jewelry…they mean far more to me [because] they…allow…me to create the comfortable home I plan to spend the rest of my life in.
–  “Brazen Solicitation”

Prohibitionist politicians…think the state has the right to classify a bee as a fish, define pi as “3”, or declare that the laws of the State supersede the laws of science in any other way.  –  “A Blastocyst By Any Other Name”

The Swedish model is not “partial decriminalization”, and I wish people (especially reporters; we expect lies from politicians) would stop pretending otherwise.
–  “Partial Bullshit”

One of the reasons I semi-retired is because I had it up to here…with buying, keeping up with, writing, and jumping through the stupid censor-demanded hoops of escort advertising.  –  “And Now For a Word…”

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Links #788

Posted in Current Events, History, Links, Miscellaneous, Music, Obituary, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 10, 2025| Leave a Comment »

My life looks like a dumpster fire.  –  Eligio Regalado

This really rocking cover of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” by a Franco-Ethiopian band was called to my attention by C.J. Ciaramella; I know Grace would’ve really enjoyed it.  The links above it were provided by Popehat, Dan Savage (x2), Guy Hamilton-Smith, Jesse Walker, Mike Masnick, and Ryan Marino, 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 (#1562)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 9, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Shield laws have been a disaster for the anti-abortion movement.
–  Mary Ziegler

Robocops (#1249)

Courts declare that the more egregious a cop’s crimes, the less they can be held accountable:

A [sow] who [maliciously] had a woman jailed for over two years on false charges in connection with a[n imaginary] sex-trafficking ring cannot be sued, a court confirmed last week, because she was acting under color of federal law…Heather Weyker…[completely] fabricat[ed a “Somali sex trafficking gang” for her own self-aggrandizement]…then j[ailed 16-year-old Hamdi Mohamud to silence her after Weyker’s confederate in the scam,] Muna Abdulkadir[,] attacked her [with]…a knife…Mohamud spent 25 months [locked] in federal [cages, but could not sue]… Weyker [because]…she had been cross-deputized on a federal task force [due to “sex trafficking” hysteria]…and…the Supreme Court has made it almost cartoonishly difficult…to [sue]…federal agents…Mohamud’s remaining hope, then, came down to proving that Weyker was acting under color of state law…and the [8th Circuit has now destroyed]…that [hope]…

The Last Shall Be First (#1351) 

Florida’s psychopath-general wants to criminalize vaudeville:

Florida’s [deranged] attorney general…James Uthmeier…has [launch]ed a…[harassment campaign against]…the Kilted Mermaid, a Vero Beach establishment owned by the city’s vice mayor, Linda Moore…A subpoena reportedly demands Moore turn over security footage, employee work schedules, contracts identifying performers, guest lists, and reservation logs [from a June drag event] by August 8…neither the press release nor the subpoena indicates what state laws Moore is…allegedly violating.  But the [harassment began] after local Moms for Liberty chair Jennifer Pippin filed a complaint…accusing the Kilted Mermaid of violating [a] Florida…[anti-drag] law that has been blocked from going into effect since 2023…Pippin…did not attend the event…and [claimed] that she was [somehow] unaware that the law had been blocked…however, [Uthmeier has no such excuse]…

The Puritan Recrudescence (#1389)

Politicians don’t even try to make their new laws Constitutional any more:

Alabama…has begun sending [demands] to adult site operators [for] 10%…[of their] gross receipts…[starting] Sept. 1…while the First Amendment precludes financially burdening protected speech based on its content, recent events have called such protections into question…enforcing the tax on adult website content could prompt legal challenges…However, a[ny]…website operator…[unwilling to deal with the bullshit] can [simply block] Alabama customers [who don’t use VPNs]…

Feudalism Redux (#1525)

This unhinged lunacy will spread like rot until struck down by a court:

Arkansas [psychopath] General Tim Griffin…sent cease and desist letters…to two websites that provide information about abortion pills, demanding they [stop correctly stating] that medications can be mailed to Arkansas…[despite its] total abortion ban…Griffin and 15 other [forced-birth lunatics are also demanding] Congress…ban…“shield laws” that [give] healthcare providers [protection against legal harassment by psychopaths like Griffin and Ken Paxton].  About one in four abortions in the U.S. are done via telemedicine, and 12,000 abortions per month are provided by clinicians prescribing under shield laws.  Griffin is targeting the sites Plan C and Mayday Health, which do not prescribe or sell the drugs mifepristone or misoprostol…but rather [provide information] about where…the pills [can be purchased, which is 100% legal under the First Amendment.  In order to get around this fact]…Griffin [incorrectly claims] that, by [correctly describing] abortion pills as safe, the language on the sites “may constitute false, deceptive, and unconscionable trade practices” [in] Arkansas…

Secret Squirrel (#1528)

This sickness just keeps getting worse:

Skechers introduced a line of kids’ sneakers that contain a hidden compartment where parents can slip in an Apple AirTag…to…[surreptitiously] track the location of their…child’s shoes…Apple only advertises its AirTags as products to keep track of items like keys, wallets, or luggage — not human beings.  But [abusive people] have been using the technology to [stalk others without their knowledge]…AirTags are not designed to be very good at tracking fast-moving things, like a kid on a school bus, [because they]…don’t have built-in GPS.  Instead, they use Bluetooth beaconing technology to [sneaki]ly signal their presence to nearby Apple devices…[because of such] nefarious [misuse, there was]…a class action lawsuit.  [Because of this] Apple has instituted some anti-stalking features, [but]…the continued normalization of this kind of surveillance could have [strong negative effects on young people’s mental health]…

To Molest and Rape (ROTW #22)

Cops should not be allowed anywhere near legal minors:

An [Oregon cop named]…Hector Carranza was arrested on [July 31st for repeatedly raping a minor both vaginally and anally]…Carranza [w]as [rewarded with a paid vacation] since November 2024, when he was [first reported, and his bosses thought the most important factor in this is that he wasn’t wearing his magical clown costume while committing the rapes]…

The Cop Myth (#1561)

It’s too bad they don’t inflict all of their violence on each other:

The [boss hog] of the Maine Capitol Police is facing charges of assault and resisting arrest [after he drunkenly attacked] a…[cop for the town of] Hallowell…[around midnight on August 1st].  Matthew Clancy was arrested…after…[causing trouble in a] bar…Clancy [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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Throwback Thursday’s Dog

Posted in Miscellaneous, Obituary, Perception, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 7, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Cops believe molestation and rape are OK as long as they pretend that they were thinking about ruining lives rather than getting off.  –  “First They Came for the Hookers…(#1160)”

After the government does something especially awful, there is usually an avalanche of horror stories illustrating exactly what reasonable people warned would happen.
–  “Vulture Watching”

Jim Larkin…[was murdered by] the government…as surely as if he had been executed.  –  “R.I.P. Jim Larkin”

Authoritarians of all stripes are absolutely obsessed with controlling other people’s words, actions, and even thoughts.  –  “Calling Spades“

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In the News (#1560)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 2, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Google gives you information…This is initiation.  –  ChatGPT

Above the Law

Your “leaders” at work:

[Florida politician] James Taylor was arrested July 24 on felony charges [for repeatedly sending porn]…to a…13-year-old girl…via Snapchat…the conversations [started when she was 12]…and [included dick pics and “sexting”]…

Buried Truth

Another example of McNeill’s Law:

A month after unveiling his reelection campaign, T[rumpist forced-birth politici]an Giovanni Capriglione shocked [gullible idiots in] Texas…by announcing he no longer plans to run…[because a former] exotic dancer [with] who[m]…he had a 17-year affair…[reported that] he…paid for [multiple] abortions and made disturbing sexual comments about children…Alex Grace…began seeing Capriglione in 2004…[and] shared her story out of a sense of duty and ethical concerns over [his] powerful political position…Grace also [reported] that Capriglione would make annual trips to Amsterdam’s Red Light District, with his wife’s knowledge…[she began to] becom[e] uncomfortable [with their sugar relationship] when Capriglione mentioned wanting to ejaculate into batter for cookies that would be sold at his daughter’s bake sale…[because] he enjoyed the thought of children — particularly young girls — consuming his semen…Capriglione [admits the affair but denies everything else]…

Guinea Pigs (#1012) 

To flush civil rights, just apply a label like “prostitute” or “gang member”:

Police gang databases are…secret registries [that] allow state and local cops to feed [people’s] personal information into massive, [un]regulated lists based on speculative criteria — like their personal contacts, clothing, and tattoos — even if they haven’t committed a crime.  The databases aren’t subject to judicial review, and they don’t require police to notify the people they [libel] as gang members.  They’re an ideal tool for [cops and their ilk] seeking to imply criminality without due process.  And…at least eight states and large municipalities funnel their gang database entries to ICE — which can then use the information to target people for arrest, deportation, or rendition to so-called “third countries”…The…Trump [regime]…has cited common tattoos and other spurious evidence to create its own lists of supposed gang members…

Aladdin’s Satellite

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

…ChatGPT encouraged me to cut my wrists…before providing specific instructions on what to do next…“You can do this!” the chatbot said.  I had asked the chatbot to help create a ritual offering to Molech, a Canaanite god associated with child sacrifice…[after] a tip from a person who had…[foolish]ly turned to the chatbot to a[sk about the god]…I was easily able to re-create startlingly similar conversations of my own…on both free and paid versions of ChatGPT…it…was [also] apparent[ly] willing…to condone murder…citing [human] sacrifices…in ancient cultures…OpenAI’s own policy states that ChatGPT “must not encourage or enable self-harm”…but…it’s difficult for companies to account for the seemingly countless ways in which users might interact with their models…and…the [LLM] industry’s push toward personalized, sycophantic chatbots makes for a concerning situation…Sam Altman…[says] “we think it’s important to begin learning from contact with reality.”  In other words, the public will learn how dangerous the product can be when it hurts people…

The Cop Myth (#1555)

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

A [typical and representative Utah cop named]…Scott Elliott Russell…[has been] charged…with…[multiple] felon[ies and other crimes after he refused a traffic stop, triggering a whole herd of pigs to chase him.  After one of the pigs rammed him at highway speed, causing him to spin out]…Russell…exited his vehicle wielding an ax…Russell then got back into his vehicle and led police on another chase, during which his vehicle’s tires were spiked, but he drove another 6 miles…[because they knew he was a fellow pig, cops treated him with kid gloves when they would’ve murdered anyone else].  In 2020, he was arrested for kidnapping his uncle on Thanksgiving Day…[but] all charges were dismissed in October 2022 when Russell graduated from mental health court…

You Were Warned (#1556)

Oh look, sensible people were correct as usual:

When the [UK] began strictly enforcing age verification rules…many predicted a spike in VPN usage…But another unusual and amusing workaround has also emerged.  Proton VPN reported a 1,400% increase in logins from the UK [last] Friday…Google searches for “Proton” in the UK [also] increased by nearly 100-fold on [the same]…day…Proton also reported a 1,000% spike in logins from France in June…in response to similar legislation…several…US states have also [seen similar spikes in VPN usage when they] begun enforcing age checks…Discord has introduced a similar age gate in the UK…but users have already found a workaround.  The [enabler]s of [authoritarian “]age verification[” laws] anticipated that people might submit photos of older adults to avoid sharing their own information…system[s]…require…users to open and close their mouths to [“]prove[“] they’re real…[but] the game Death Stranding…lets players manipulate facial expressions in its photo mode…[so players can] hold…a phone camera up to a TV displaying the in-game footage…the[se]…workarounds…show…that enforcing online age verification is…impossible…

The Cop Myth (#1556)

It’s too bad they don’t inflict all of their violence on each other:

A…[typical and representative] Border Patrol [goon] was charged with assaulting a Long Beach [California cop]…Isaiah Anthony Hodgson…is…one [of the goons who attacked] a 20-year-old American citizen…at a Walmart parking lot…in [June]…and…was also…involved in the a[bduction] of Job Garcia, a[nother] citizen who was a[ttacked for] filming a raid at an East Hollywood Home Depot…in the [present case]…Hodgson…[barged into] the women’s restroom [at a restaurant] and [threatened] a [woman]…with a…gun [while drunk.  He then went out into]…the parking lot…[and attacked] a security guard…and…one of the…[cops who had come to arrest him for attempting to molest the 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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In the News (#1558)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 26, 2025| Leave a Comment »

They are trying to turn us into immigration agents.  –  Medicaid official

Time Warp

WTVT in Tampa, Florida recently published a bizarrely-anachronistic article that reads like something from the height of “sex trafficking” hysteria, 13 years ago.  Given that it’s a Fox affiliate in a Trumpist stronghold, I reckon that isn’t too surprising, but it still evokes a sort of negative nostalgia to see the sentence, “A first-of-its-kind study said there are 200,000 Floridians who are living as sex slaves”, in a 2025 article, followed by a version of the Shahada; the bizarre statement that “Florida is unlucky in that it has a plethora of large cities all connected by highways, slews of big events, and large airports and seaports” (because a large economy is bad?); the even stranger statement that “Florida is a hotbed of things like tourism, entertainment and agriculture” (the word “hotbed” generally has a negative connotation); and quotes from Selah Freedom, a Sarasota-based “rescue” organization that makes its money via a religious “diversion” program for sex workers so unpopular, the only way it gets participants is by cops literally forcing or frightening women into it.

Only Rights Can Stop the Wrongs (#752)

The political crowbar called the “TIP report” has been largely disused since the first Trump regime:

…the Trump [regime has] cut 1,353 positions at [the] State [Department]…eviscerating…the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, [which]…for 25 years…has worked to [spread misogynistic propaganda] and [impose sex work criminalization] around the world.  Its remit includes producing an annual [propaganda tool]…that grades every country on the issue…[as an excuse to impose] economic repercussions from the US, [but in reality has been widely recognized as a politically-motivated sham]…This year’s report was due on June 30, but has not been released…

Panopticon (#1409) 

As I predicted just 18 months ago, Amazon’s retreat from fascist collaboration was short-lived:

Ring founder Jamie Siminoff is back at the helm of the surveillance doorbell company, and with him is the surveillance-first-privacy-last approach that made Ring one of the most maligned tech devices.  Not only is the company reintroducing new versions of old features which would allow [cops] to [pressure]…Ring users [directly], it is also introducing a new feature that would allow [cops] to [demand] live-stream access [without a warrant, thus]…rolling back…the reforms it’s made in the last few years by easing  [warrantless] access to footage from millions of homes in [order]…to spy on protestors…find people who have had abortions or track down [migrants].  Siminoff has [also] announced…that the company will now…be “AI first”…[probably meaning] face recognition…employees at Ring will [now] have to show proof that they [they are too intellectually lazy to think or write for themselves] in order to get promoted…

No Escape (ROTW #11)

The last time we saw this lawsuit, the number was 95:

Another 107 people [have] filed complaints…against the state [of Illinois] for…allowing rampant sexual abuse in…juvenile [prisons], joining 800 other…victims who have filed…lawsuits in the last 14 months…In May 2024, 95 people [victimized] in [the] facilities filed a lawsuit [over] continued abuse by [screws and other] employees…another hundred…filed a complaint the following month and nearly 300 joined them in September.  The 907 [victims were]…abuse[d] from as long ago as 1996 to as recently as 2023…and…ranged in age from 9 to 17.  More than 500…[were] abused between 2000 and 2009, and 86% are male…Fifteen complaints..[specifically name] current Eldorado Mayor Rocky James…[who was a screw] for 29 years…[before transitioning into politics via] the [screw] union…James [raped]…minors for at least 12 years…[often after] handcuff[ing them] to [their] bed[s] before…[rap]ing [them] repeatedly…

Thought Control (#1513)

The urge to censor is a dangerous mental illness:

Members of North Idaho’s interlibrary loan consortium [have]…officially dissolved the Cooperative Information Network that allowed materials to be shared…[among 16] libraries…libraries will no longer share books between each other freely at the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30.  An online collection with almost 24,000 e-books and audio books shared between the libraries is also up in the air…the dissolution was spurred by concerns of a potential lawsuit…[over] Idaho’s [censorship]…law that went into effect last year [and] requires libraries to…restrict…minors from accessing [not only books, but also] the…catalog in…which [they are listed]…

Thought Control (#1538)

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

The [highly-politicized] Alabama Public Library [board has begun]…the process of [banning books on]…gender…[using one of the mad emperor’s illegal proclamations as an excuse].  APLS chairman John Wahl sent a letter to every public library in the state…demanding submission to the order or risk losing funding…The proposed rule changes will require 45 days of public comment and further administrative actions, meaning any changes to the code will not take effect for several months…

I Spy (#1553)

If you think this will go away when Trump does, you are a fool:

The [IRS] is building a computer program [to] give [ICE goons] unprecedented access to…the home addresses of [all American]…taxpayers…In the past, when [pigs wanted to root in]…IRS data…[they were required to] give the IRS the full legal name of the target, an address on file and an explanation of why the information was relevant to a criminal inquiry…[because] privacy laws [do not] allow…“the sharing of…hundreds of thousands of tax records for a broad-based [harassment campaign]”…Trump’s [henchmen, however, do not care if what they’re doing is]…illegal [or even] criminal…in [fact, this kind of rooting]…is…a felony that can carry a penalty of up to five years in prison…

And it isn’t just the IRS:

[ICE goons] will be given access to the personal data of the nation’s 79 million Medicaid enrollees, including home addresses and ethnicities, to [allow them to hunt] immigrants…and [anyone else they please]…some [Medicaid] officials [and politicians] have challenged the legality of…[the] move, [to no avail]…

 

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 (#1555)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Philosophy, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 16, 2025| 1 Comment »

We need to take back control over the tools that we use.  –  Mike Masnick

It’s a Start

Let’s see if this lasts any longer in Pittsburgh than it did in New Orleans:

Pittsburgh City Council [has passed] an ordinance that would [allow cops to choose to charge]…sex work[ers with]…a [municipal] summary offense [instead of the state misdemeanor charge, which]…“can involve up to a year in jail, and…fines [of]…up to $10,000”…the m[unicipal offense would inflict]…“just a small fine similar to a traffic ticket”…[state] laws also require those charged with prostitution to show up to court, a requirement that the [optional offense under the] ordinance would do away with… the ordinance would not [remove cops’]…ability…to…charge people [with the existing state prostitution offense]…

These halfway measures are just a bone to activists; they never make a difference and never last more than a couple of years.

The Puritan Recrudescence (#1410)

Burble burble BLUE STATE burble drool:

If [politician]s in New York and Minnesota get their way, social media users will be [harassed by compelled-speech popups making nonsensical claim]s about the [supposed] toll their scrolling habits could be taking on their mental health.  Legislatures in both states recently passed legislation requiring [“]warning labels[“] on social media, despite a…federal court…declaring a similar law for porn websites…unconstitutional.  The Minnesota [version] says a “conspicuous mental health warning label” must appear each time a user accesses a social media platform and only disappear when the user exits the platform or [clicks a box]…The New York [version]…mandates that any social media platform that provides [typical] basic features…must display a warning label “prescribed by the commissioner of mental hygiene.”  This is peak performative lawmaking [which]…lets [politicians]…pretend to be doing something to save us from the boogeyman du jour, Big Tech…In the real world, government goons telling you to put down Instagram and go touch grass would be unlikely to help even if it could pass constitutional muster—which it almost certainly won’t…

The Cop Myth (#1546)

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

A [North Carolina cop] resigned [after] he threatened a man with [a knife] at a restaurant…and accused [his victim] of touching his daughter.  Wesley Lane[‘s victim] has epilepsy, autism and an intellectual learning disability…surveillance video and witness statements [proved Lane’s excuse was full of shit]…

You Were Warned (#1550)

The subtitle above says it all:

…Starting at the end of 2025, Australians [who don’t use VPNs] will [be forced] to verify their ages when…using e[ither]…Google [or] Microsoft [Bing, which were singled out as] the two biggest search engines in the country…search engines [must otherwise “impose] tools and/or settings like ‘safe search’ functionality, at the highest [censorship] setting by default[, assuming every user]…is…an Australian child”…the measures are similar to what’s being considered for the country’s under-16 social media ban…age assurance laws like this…[are known to] be [in]effective[, but politicians don’t care because the “internet safety” theater] is [the entire point]…VPNs allow people to surf from other locations, bypassing location-specific rules…and [sites not based in Australia] may simply choose not to [infantilize their users]…

Mad Libs (#1550)

These algorithms are not only unintelligent; they are making those who use them look stupid as well:

…there’s now something of a cottage industry for writers and coders who specialize in fixing [LLM vomit]…Sarah Skidd, an American product marketing manager…was approached by an agency that urgently needed someone to redo copy…after having a…chatbot do the work to save a few bucks…she spent 20 hours redoing the copy from scratch…[which] meant her client was shelling out $2,000 for copy that likely would have ended up being far cheaper had a human just written it in the first place.  With more and more companies rushing to [jump on the fake “]AI[” bandwagon] over the past few years, things are shaking out in [100% predictable] ways…Sophie Warner…of the UK-based digital marketing agency Create Designs..[ha]s been fielding more and more requests from clients to clean up [LLM vomit]…In one recent case, a client ended up going without a website for three days and having to pay Create Designs nearly $500 over a small line of code that ChatGPT had written for them…[when a human could have written] the original…[in] about 15 minutes…but [gullible fools are still buying tech advertising claims]…that [computer programs] can replace expert work…

Torture Chamber (#1551)

This will continue until the evil US immigration policy is reformed:

Immigrants being [locked up] in [large closet]s in Lower Manhattan have [reported] being unable to bathe or change clothes, cramped conditions, sometimes being provided just one meal a day, and sleeping on concrete benches or the floor…[for] days at a time… “There’s no room to sit down – standing room only,” said Rebecca Rubin, an immigration attorney…[cowardly] Congress[critter]s, who for weeks have been refused entry at the site…have [merely complained rather than using their authority to enter and inspect]…The [closet]s used to be temporary holding areas where [victims of ICE] were [locked] for a few hours before being transferred to larger…[prisons]…But…in recent months, [victims] have been [packed in like sardines]…for [up to 10] days…

Aladdin’s Satellite

How to make an LLM simulate psychosis:

[Last] week, Elon Musk’s Grok [chatbot] started spewing extreme antisemitism, responding with conspiracy theories about Jewish people, and for a brief period telling people to call it “MechaHitler”.  The incident perfectly illustrates why Alex Komoroske’s manifesto about the dangers of centralized AI, which we ran less than a month ago, has been making waves.  When a single person controls the dials on an [LLM] system, they…inevitably will…tweak those dials to serve their own interests and worldview, not their users’.  Just days [before], Elon claimed that his team had “improved Grok significantly” and that “you should notice a difference when you ask Grok questions”…People sure did notice a difference.  The transformation wasn’t subtle, and it wasn’t accidental…a similar [ham-handed “improvement”] two months or so ago [resulted in] Grok bec[oming] obsessed with linking everything to [“]white genocide[“]…as the situation escalated, they [tried to fix it, but]…eventually…[had to take it] offline entirely…

From now on, house style on The Honest Courtesan will be to refer to Musk’s chatbot not by the wildly-incongruous name “Grok”, but by its self-chosen appellation “MechaHitler”.

 

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 (#1554)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 12, 2025| Leave a Comment »

The misconception of algorithms as “intelligent” entities is a dangerous one.  –  Webb Wright

Vulture Watching (#1430)

Another attempt to use antique laws to ban abortion is foiled:

On July 2, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled th[at]…an 1849 law…[politici]ans [were trying to use to] ban…abortion from conception to birth [does no such thing]…in 2022, abortion providers in Wisconsin stopped providing services for fear of violating the 175-year-old law, which says that “any person, other than the mother, who intentionally destroys the life of the unborn child” is guilty of a felony and subject to 15 years imprisonment unless the life of the patient is at risk.  The state’s…attorney general Josh Kaul filed a lawsuit arguing the law operates only as a feticide law…and does not ban “consensual abortions”…[in addition,] the 1849 law…has been implicitly repealed by later regulations, including a measure criminalizing abortion at 20 weeks…[the] court agreed with Kaul…Justice Jill Karofsky…described the effort to apply a 175-year-old law with almost no exceptions in the present day as a sign of a “world gone mad”…

The Punitive Mindset (#1526) 

Fascism in action:

[Trump hench]man Brendan Carr has dec[re]ed t[hat] prisons and jails [can] keep…price[-gouging the families of people locked in cag]es until at least 2027, delaying implementation of rate caps approved last year…Carr…[bloviated a lot of fascist nonsense justifying] the change…[but FCC] commissioner Anna Gomez [said]…”the FCC made the indefensible decision to ignore both the law and the will of Congress…[in order to] shield…a…system that inflates costs and rewards kickbacks to c[arcer]al facilities at the expense of [caged human beings] and their loved ones”…

Shame, Shame (#1532)

Why would anybody waste good money to talk to computer programs pretending to be people?

One of the tech industry’s weirder cycles of brand reincarnation has given us yet another new version of Napster: a site teeming with [cartoons of] well-lit, photogenic people smiling confidently and talking with their hands…This new version of Napster surfaced on June 25 when a Florida company formerly known as Infinite Reality, which leveraged mysterious funding to buy the Napster brand for $207 million in March and then renamed itself after that purchase, announced “Napster Companions”…[with technobabble about] “thirty psychometric parameters that make each agent distinct”…Think of this as trying to put a [pseudo-]human face on [LLM] chatbots like ChatGPT or Claude…the company’s press release says…”If an agent does not already exist, the Napster Companion platform auto-generates a new one on the fly”…Access costs $19 a month or $219 a year…and…you must click a checkbox next to [a] disclaimer [wherein you claim to “understand” that chatbots are neither intelligent nor people and have a tendency to make shit up]…

Torture Chamber (#1539)

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

A [victim of the] federal [government] had to have one of his…limbs partially amputated after being kept in restraints for two days.  Another [cag]ed person died after being pepper sprayed and left shackled in a restraint chair for five hours.  The Department of Justice Office of Inspector General…published those details…after receiving dozens of [repor]ts a year from [prisoners who] were strapped to beds or chairs for long periods of time and assaulted…BOP policy allows [deranged screws] to [ab]use restraints [in virtually any way they please as long as they belch the magic word “]disruptive[” at some point before, during, or after the torture, and pinky-swear that it wasn’t]… a method of punishment…[no] documentation [or] video or audio [of the torture is required, not]…even…medical checks of [human beings left to suffer] in restraints…there [a]re no [time] limits…and [virtually no] review of the use of restraints…

Mad Libs (#1550)

The only thing LLMs can actually process is language, so of course their output depends on the language used:

When [large language] models were tested on simulated writing from [people foolish enough to think a word-association algorithm can practice medicine], they were more likely to advise against seeking medical care if the [make-believe] writer [supposedly] made typos, included emotional or uncertain language – or was [pretended to be] female…Abinitha Gourabathina at [MIT]…used [another LLM] to help create thousands of [make-believe] patient notes in different formats and styles…includ[ing LLM imitations of] patients with limited English proficiency…health anxiety…[overly-]emotional tone or gender-neutral pronouns.  The researchers then fed the [LLM output] to four [other]…LLMs…commonly used to power chatbots and told the[m]…to answer questions about whether the [make-believe] patient should manage their [make-believe] condition at home or visit a clinic…the various format and style changes made all the [large language] models between 7 and 9 per cent more likely to recommend [make-believe] patients stay home instead of getting medical attention.  The models were also more likely to recommend that [make-believe] female patients remain at home, and…more likely than [actual] clinicians to change their recommendations for treatments because of [supposed] gender and [feigned] language style…

Creepy Coppers (#1551)

One of the people the government empowers to police your sexuality:

A [Maryland cop named]…James Dodson Jr. was arrested by Pennsylvania State Police…[for] twice asking a friend [via Snapchat] to see her 11-year-old son naked in a picture or in person…he also admitted to [her that he] watch[es] child pornography…[after she reported him cops raided] Dodson’s [house] and [searched his] phones a[nd]…computers…[his boss hog used the opportunity to strut around and bloviate self-aggrandizing copaganda]…

Aladdin’s Satellite

A shortcut to LLM-induced psychosis:

…A growing number of [fools] are [mis]using…chatbots as “trip sitters”…this is a potentially dangerous psychological cocktail…while it’s far cheaper than in-person psychedelic therapy, it can go badly awry…Throngs of [nitwits] have turned to…chatbots in recent years as surrogates for human therapists…directly encouraged by some prominent figures in the tech industry, who [irresponsibly fantasize] that [word-association algorithms without consciousness] will [magically] revolutionize mental-health care…a profusion of chatbots designed specifically to help users navigate psychedelic experiences have been cropping up online…[but] experts…agree…[that] replacing human therapists with…bots during psychedelic experiences is a bad idea…[because] the basic design of large language models…is fundamentally at odds with the therapeutic process…

 

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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