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Posts Tagged ‘Maine’

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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We don’t think he did anything wrong, obviously.  –  murderous cop’s lawyer

This has always been my favorite Connie Francis song; I love the way its sweet, slow tone masks absolutely vicious schadenfreude.  The links above it were provided by Scott Greenfield, Mike Siegel, Jesse Walker, IncarcerNation, Nun Ya, Jacob Sullum, and Yasmin Nair, 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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If Men Were Angels

No religion has a monopoly on preachy molesters:

A…zionist rabbi [from Dallas] who publicly spread false claims about Hamas raping Israeli women…has been arrested for sexually abusing a teenage boy.  Rabbi Yizhak Meir Sabo…was…arrested…on April 1…[for] repeatedly pull[ing] down a [high school] student’s pants and touch[ing] his genitals…Sabo also watched the student shower and gave him inappropriate “massages”…

Here’s another one:

A Catholic priest…in [California] was arrested…[for] raping a minor…Fr. Jaime Arriaga…was removed from ministry…[because] the LA Archdiocese [can’t afford another]…$880 million settlement over…child sexual abuse…

Business As Usual

They’re trying to pretend these aren’t typical and representative by calling them “rookies”:

Two [typical and representative] NYPD [cops have finally been] arrested for [armed robbery of] two [sex workers] and [sexual assault of] one of them while [wearing their magical clown costumes]…Justin Colon…and Justin McMillan…[followed typical cop procedure by turning off their] body-worn cameras…so that their [violent crimes] would not be recorded…[prosecutors are already trying to prejudice possible jurors by barfing out the word “]prostitution[” and giving the rapists paid vacation since they committed the crimes]…in July…[they assaulted the first] woman [they encountered], throwing her purse to the ground and stealing a key…[they then] returned eight hours later and used the key to enter an apartment, where they [robbed and sexually assaulted] another woman…both women fled from [the dangerous thugs] after they were robbed…

Stalkers in Blue (#1396)

Cops are sexual predators who often specifically target traumatized women:

A woman who was groomed by a predatory [London cop] has received an apology from the Metropolitan Police after the [other cops] blamed her and spread false information about her mental health instead of investigating him…Phil Hunter…[was sent to her home on a so-called “]welfare visit[” after some busybody called them] in 2017…[but cops ignored her complaints about his stalking her for] seven…year[s until he]…was found guilty of gross misconduct a[nd sacked] in August…[for the same behavior with a different] victim…[the cop-defamed victim] said…”Surely predators are more drawn to vulnerable people with mental health issues than people that can stand up to them, so…surely they would investigate that more, not less, had it been true?  What about other women who’ve come forward who do have a mental health issue of some description and they’ve completely ignored them on that basis?”…


To Molest and Rape (ROTW #18)

Cops should not be allowed anywhere near legal minors:

A [typical and representative Michigan cop named…Ryan Dornbos [has been] sentenced…to 10 to 40 years in prison for [molesting a minor boy]…He must also register as a sex offender…the victim’s mother [foolishly]…trusted…Dornbos…because…he [is a cop]…

If Men Were Angels (#1519)

Spiritual care coordinator“:

Douglas Cotta[, a hospital chaplain in Bangor, Maine,] pleaded guilty to…possession of [child porn after he was caught]…upload[ing] a…video [of] an adult man and woman sexually assaulting a [toddler] girl between the ages of 3 and 4….Maine State Police…[tossed] his home…[and found more child porn on his] cell phone and laptop…[due to a plea bargain] Cotta [was] sentenced to [a mere] 6 months [in jail]…

 

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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It’s a fake legal process…[that] reeks of pure politics.  –  David Webbert

If Men Were Angels

This will continue until fools stop teaching children unquestioning obedience to “authority”:

…Jose Saez, Jr., [the] pastor [of] a church…in Brentwood, New York, pleaded guilty to…child [molestation, and]…faces a minimum sentence of…30 years…Saez used an encrypted messaging service to engage in sexually explicit conversations with [a cop fantasy role-playing as a child, stating]…he had sexually abused an infant, that his “sweet spot” was molesting children between the ages of 11 and 15, and that he was able to find his younger victims at “church”…FBI agents [also found] numerous images and videos of child pornography [when they searched his stuff]…

The Next Target (#1151)

People everywhere are getting sick of prohibitionist censorship:

The Administrative Court in Düsseldorf is set to decide on the future of online pornography in Germany…The North Rhine-Westphalia State Media Authority (LfM)…demands that pornographic sites meticulously verify the age of all visitors…or…face network blocking.  The operators of the world’s largest porn sites…don’t want to harass their millions of visitors with ID checks…Pornhub and YouPorn, both owned by Aylo…refuse to [spy on visitors thus, so LfM]…demanded that Germany’s largest internet providers block their websites…However, most porn fans are unlikely to have noticed this, as the affected porn sites simply changed their domains.  Pornhub is…accessible at “de.pornhub.org”; the…block only applied to “de.pornhub.com”…In addition, users can easily circumvent a network block…with…a VPN…Two cases before the Düsseldorf Administrative Court revolve around the question of whether the blocking orders issued by the media regulator are even [legal]…

The Last Shall Be First (#1244)

Another disgusting genital inspection law:

…the West Virginia Legislature passed a bill that would allow health care providers to “visually or physically examine a minor”…for the purpose of identifying their “biological sex” without the “consent of the [minor]’s parent, guardian, or custodian.”  The bill, S.B. 456, would define sex based on whether a person produces eggs or sperm…[and limits]  gender-segregated spaces like locker rooms or restrooms…to…a person’s sex…at birth…an amendment…[restricted the “right” to violate a minor against their will to their] “treating health care provider”…[which] was actually an improvement over a previous version of the bill, which…would have allowed teachers to perform the [molest]ations…

In the authoritarian mind,  for students to voluntarily allow other people to examine their genitalia for the purpose of pleasure is a “crime”, but for the same students to be forced by law to allow strangers to examine their genitalia for the purpose of bigotry is “protection”.

Eavesdropping (#1379)

Remember, Amazon eagerly hands data from internet-connected devices to cops:

With Alexa+ rolling out to Amazon Echo devices in the coming weeks, we’re getting a clearer view at the privacy concessions people will have to make to maximize usage of the [LLM] voice assistant and avoid bricking functionality of already-purchased devices…Amazon said that Echo users will no longer be able to set their devices to process Alexa requests locally…starting on March 28, recordings of everything spoken to…Echo speakers and…displays will automatically be sent to Amazon and processed in the[ir servers]…One of the most marketed features of Alexa+ is its more advanced ability to recognize who is speaking to it…To accommodate this…Amazon is eliminating a privacy-focused capability for all Echo users, even those who aren’t interested in…Alexa+…In 2023, Amazon agreed to pay $25 million in civil penalties over the revelation that it stored recordings of children’s interactions with Alexa forever…the company [also] allowed employees to listen to Alexa voice recordings…and…watch video recordings of customers’ private spaces…taken from Ring cameras

The Last Shall Be First (#1517)

Wouldn’t it be nice if there were at least a few adults in office?

…after a [politician feign]ed outrage on Facebook about a transgender girl winning a high school pole vaulting event…[mad emperor] Trump singled out Maine’s governor…and threatened to cut off the state’s federal funding.  “See you in court,” Gov. Janet Mills shot back.  Then came a barrage of investigations and threats [from] the…Department[s] of Education…Health and Human Services…Agriculture…and…Justice…The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration…pulled $4.5 million for marine research…[and] the Social Security Administration…cancel[ed] contracts that allowed hospitals to automatically report births and funeral homes to report deaths…more federal agencies are pressing down on Maine than there are transgender girls competing in girls’ sports in the state…David Webbert, a longtime civil rights attorney in Maine…[observed that] it’s as if Trump is saying: “Maine believes in transgender rights? Well, you’re going to see what happens to you”…

To Molest and Rape (#1518)

Though his victim wasn’t a student, would you want a rapist lurking around your daughter?

…[An Indiana cop named] Zachary Kerley is [paid to lurk in]…schools [to spy on, harass, and intimidate students].  He…[was friendly with his victim] via Snapchat…and asked her out for drinks.  She…accepted but told him “it’s not going any further than that”, and…he agreed…[but then raped] her at [her] hotel…despite her physical and verbal objections…Kerley [has been rewarded with a paid vacation]…

The Notorious Badge (#1519)

Didn’t this ignorant clod used to be a comedian or something?

Bill Maher…took some time during his “New Rules” segment to exclaim, “Whores are having a moment…You gotta give me more than a week to get used to a new word or phrase or name for what we call something…We did this with homeless until it was unhoused. We did this with illegal alien until it was undocumented migrant…And now we’re doing it with prostitute…If it’s such an important liberal cause…why didn’t you do it 10 years ago or 20 or in 1975?”…

NB: The term “sex worker” was coined by Carol Leigh in 1979, became popular among activists in the ’80s, and has been commonly used in the mainstream media for about ten years now.

 

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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Above the Law

Politicians tried to slip one of their rapist cronies back into power:

Thomaston…[Maine]’s fire and EMS chief…resigned…days after the town’s [politicians] reinstated him despite [his pleading] guilty [to raping a 14-year-old]…Anthony Leo…was reinstated…on Nov. 7…[but] resigned…on Nov. 13 [due to public outcry]…

Above the Law (#1098)  

FBI thugs are just federal cops, and behave accordingly:

An FBI agent…[raped] two women [after] contact[ing them]…through social media with a promise to give them free tattoos and modeling work…Eduardo Valdivia [did not tell the women that he] was an FBI agent…[but instead] contacted the women through an Instagram account for a tattoo parlor in Gaithersburg, Maryland…and…threatened to take legal action if they didn’t return to model for him…Valdivia may have…other [victims, but his]…defense attorney Robert Bonsib said [they wanted it]…

To Molest and Rape (#1291)

Good riddance to bad rubbish:

A [typical and representative] Kansas [cop] about to [finally] stand trial on charges that he kidnapped and raped two women…was found dead [by suicide on December 2.  Cops]…discovered the body of Roger Golubski…after he failed to show up [to face the music] in his long-awaited trial in Topeka…Golubski was…[a serial rapist of] vulnerable Black women…[who] hand-picked his victims[, many of them sex workers,] because he was confident they would never be believed….federal authorities [were also prosecuting him for being part of a violent pimping scheme.  For decades, boss cops ignored stacks of complaints about Golubski’s use of threats and sexual violence to cultivate a vast network of informants and coerce some of them into fabricating testimony to cage innocent human beings he targeted, but that changed when one of his victims], Lamonte McIntyre, [sued him after being] released from prison in 2017 after more than 23 years behind bars.  The parties settled the case in June 2022 with county officials agreeing to pay the McIntyres $12.5 million…

To Molest and Rape (#1399)

It isn’t often cops reap the consequences of their crimes:

A [typical and representative] New York City [cop has been] convicted…[for molesting or attempting to molest] four underage boys…Christopher Terranova…said he would appeal [because they wanted it.  His lawyer] added…“Chris…is…sexy…because he was a cop”…

Business As Usual (ROTW #15)

The obfuscatory language in this one is even more intentionally-confusing than usual:

A…[cop paid by] the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission [to lie to women in order to ruin their lives] was fired…[for raping one of the state’s] victim[s] during a major [scheme to destroy ]…9 different nightclubs across north and east Houston…Moises Felipe Moreno…was…[not] charge[d, allowing him to be]…hired by [a different Texas cop shop which was fully aware they were hiring a known rapist]…

 

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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It’s transparently a ridiculous defense, because the entire thing that they’re selling is the ability to track phones.  –  Nate Wessler

Dangerous Speech

Governments are growing increasingly bold in their attempts to censor the internet:

Telegram is one of the last (mostly) uncensored frontiers of the internet.  The messaging app allows users to message each other through both unencrypted and encrypted chats, and to create “channels” that other users can subscribe to.  There’s no feed with an algorithm to manipulate, and founder Pavel Durov has committed to never sharing user information with [violent busybodies]…A decade ago, Durov fled Russia after his previous social media company, VKontakte, was [stolen] by the government. (Since then, he spent most of his time in Dubai and obtained French citizenship in 2021.)  Russia banned Durov’s newer app Telegram in 2018 but then unblocked [it] two years later…China and Iran have also banned Telegram…[and now] French authorities arrested Durov at the airport for [a number of vicarious “crimes” due to his refusal to engage in a fascist partnership with cops against his own users]…The French case against Telegram resembles the U.S. case against Backpage...

Above the Law (#1361)

It’s unusual that they didn’t make this sound like the rapist was doing his victims a favor:

A [typical and representative] Alabama prosecutor was found guilty of six corruption charges…for [extor]ting sexual favors from at least three women who[m] he was…prosecuting for crimes…Mark Johnson…[was] also previously…a [cop.  His]…attorneys…argued in court that [rape isn’t a crime if a] prosecutor…[accomplishes it by threat rather than force]…

I Spy (#1400)

It’s far too late to cram this djinni back into its bottle, God help us:

…the Texas [cop shop collective has acquired]…a controversial surveillance tool called Tangles…that scrapes information from the open, deep, and dark web.  Tangles’ premier add-on feature…WebLoc can track…mobile devices’ movements…through… “geofencing”…without a search warrant…subpoena…[or the participation of] companies like Google…us[ing]…information from data brokers…While a device’s mobile ad ID is [supposed]ly…anonymous…it is easy to cross reference other data points to determine the owner…Tangles is [sold] by the [fascist Israeli] company Cobwebs Technologies, which…operat[es] as a surveillance-for-hire outfit [to circumvent Constitutional limitations.  Texas]…first purchased the software as part of Governor Greg Abbott’s multi-billion dollar Operation Lone Star [anti-migrant jihad and]…expanded the contract [every year]…

Served Cold (#1406)

I can’t feel sorry for women who were happy to throw other women to the leopards:

Celeste Borys and Kira Lynch…[are regularly] scorn[ed] and harass[ed by the disciples of rescue industry charlatan]…Tim Ballard…who…[realiz]ed during the Obama administration [that there was plenty of money and fame to be made in the hysteria over “]child sex trafficking[“;] he [accomplished this by]…recruiting…true believers to join him on [theatrical “rescue”] operations in [foreign countries where officials could be bribed to ignore his illegal targeting of their citizens and endangerment of their children.  His shenanigans inspired a completely]…fictionalized film [with the hypocritical name] Sound of Freedom based on [the tall tales he tells to attract marks to finance] Operation Underground Railroad…the [rescue industry profiteer]ing organization he founded…Ballard [fell from grace with everyone but MAGAists and QAnon cultists when a number of]…women – Borys and Lynch among them – [sued and filed criminal complaints against him for] sexually abus[ing] them…[using the same ridiculous “]saving children[ from sex trafficking” fantasies he used to fleece sex-haters and other gullible wackos]…

The Cop Myth (#1423)

How long will America ignore the costs of its sick worship of state-sanctioned violence?

Police in the US use force on at least 300,000 people each year, [seriously] injuring an estimated 100,000 of them, according to…Mapping Police Violence, a non-profit research group that…[has] launched a new database…cataloging non-fatal incidents of police use of force, including stun guns, chemical sprays, K9 dog attacks, neck restraints, beanbags and baton strikes.  The data…compiled from public records requests in every state….[demonstrate] that despite widespread protests against police brutality…in 2020, overall use of force has [at least] remained steady…and in many jurisdictions, has increased.  The data builds on past reports that found US police [intentionally murder] roughly 1,200 people each year, or three people a day, a death toll that has crept up every year and dramatically exceeds rates in c[ivilized] nations.  The nonfatal force statistics…illustrate how the [intentional murder]s are just a small fraction of broader police violence and [death]s caused by law enforcement…The data is [definitely] an undercount as it only covers incidents disclosed by [cop shops], and many states have laws [hiding] police [violence from public scrutiny]…

To Molest and Rape (#1467)

Cops should not be allowed anywhere near legal minors:

On…August 19, [typical and representative California cop] James Walter Best Jr. was arrested…[in] Maine…where…he [fled after being interrogated by Kern County, California cops in October of last year for repeatedly molesting and raping]…one of his [own] children…[from] 9 years old…until they were of age…Best…never denied the [molest]ations…but c[laim]ed…he didn’t remember…[Best was previously put on probation in 2020 for embezzlement and grand theft]…

The Cop Myth (#1468)

Sleeping with a cop is one of the most dangerous things a woman can do, even if she’s a cop herself:

A…Chicago [cop who was not wearing his magical clown costume] attack[ed] his cop girlfriend during a drunken rampage…at a [cop shop], pulling her by her hair while [threatening her with] a loaded gun…Francisco Galvan…faces [only] misdemeanor c[harges because]…his [victim] declined to pursue felony charges…[fellow cops] saw Galvan walking through the [cop shop] parking lot…before he a[ttack]ed his…girlfriend, who was [wearing her magical clown costume and] sitting in a p[igmobile]…

 

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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The Fourth Amendment is not about the police, it’s about the government.  –  Robert Frommer

New Excuse

One “war” on consensual behavior is very like another:

A new law in Alabama showcases how the war on sex trafficking is mirroring the war on drugs…”The Sound of Freedom Act“…stipulates a mandatory life sentence for anyone found guilty of first-degree human trafficking of a minor…in fact it will likely to lead to extreme overpunishment for people whose offenses…look…nothing like…the sort of…situations imagined by Hollywood or by groups like Operation Underground Railroad…At a certain point in the drug war, everything was plenty criminalized but…politicians still wanted ways to look like they were doing something about it…So instead of dealing in reality, they proposed harsher and harsher penalties for drug offenses…Over the past two decades, we’ve been seeing this same pattern play out with prostitution-related offenses…harsher and harsher penalties, mandatory minimums, and…at the same time…authorities keep expanding the categories of activities that count as sex trafficking

If Men Were Angels (#1360)

It’s not uncommon for cops who murder their wives to pass it off as “suicide”, and preachers are like cops in many ways:

Loved ones of a pastor’s wife who was found dead in a North Carolina state park with a bullet wound to her head are not convinced she died by suicide, as her husband claims…they’re pressing authorities to probe Mica Miller’s death as something potentially more sinister…her husband, John-Paul Miller…delivered an entire sermon as usual before revealing…his wife’s passing…to…his congregation [on April 28th]… “She had struggled with suicide before…but God took care of her and got her through it.”  Court filings show…Mica Miller had filed for divorce from her husband just weeks before her death…And on March 22, [she had] posted a [Facebook] video in which she discussed “leaving a dangerous situation”…

Feudalism Redux (#1371)

Politicians who make unconstitutional threats should be impeached for violating their oaths of office:

A federal judge [has] rebuked Republican Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall’s threatened prosecution of those who help people in Alabama obtain abortions out of state…Judge Myron H. Thompson rejected Marshall’s request that the court toss out a pair of lawsuits brought by an abortion fund and health care providers challenging his threatened prosecutions…in the 98-page opinion [the judge wrote,] “The Attorney General’s characterization of the right to travel as merely a right to move physically between the States contravenes history, precedent, and common sense”…

Panopticon (#1384)

Court rules that illegal searches are legal if the government circumvents due process:

…the Michigan Supreme Court ruled unanimously that evidence collected illegally c[an] still be used to enforce civil penalties.  Todd and Heather Maxon…filed to suppress…evidence [illegally collected by a warrantless drone search] as a Fourth Amendment violation…[but] the court…[claimed] the exclusionary rule [only] applies to…”wrongful law enforcement conduct”…In other words, the state’s highest court decided that it was irrelevant whether the search violated the Fourth Amendment because…the search was conducted to investigate civil and not criminal violations…

Governments are increasingly attacking citizens with civil suits rather than criminal charges because the burden of proof is lower; this gives them another reason to do so.

Creepy Coppers (#1420)

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

A [typical and representative Maine cop named] Larry Fickett…has been [arrested and] charged with possession of child pornography and endangering the welfare of a child…Fickett…[apparently induced a prepubescent child of indeterminate gender to masturbate while he filmed it, on multiple occasions]…between Jan. 1, 2021 and March 1 of this year…

You Were Warned (#1433)

The inevitable result of a blatantly-unconstitutional law:

TikTok and its parent company [have] filed a legal challenge against the United States over a law…outlawing the app nationwide unless it finds a buyer within a year…”Banning TikTok is so obviously unconstitutional…that even the Act’s sponsors recognized that reality, and therefore have tried mightily to depict the law not as a ban at all, but merely a regulation of TikTok’s ownership,” according to the filing…lawyers for TikTok say the law offers the company a false choice, since fully divesting from its parent company, ByteDance, is “simply not possible: not commercially, not technologically, not legally…and certainly not on the 270-day timeline required by the Act”…if TikTok loses this legal fight, it will likely [geoblock users in] the U.S. [who don’t use a VPN]…

Torture Chamber (#1433)

Your “leaders” call this “correction”:

When New York banned the use of long-term solitary confinement in its prisons and barred the practice entirely for certain people, including mentally ill prisoners…it was hailed [by naifs] as a groundbreaking measure that would fundamentally change life behind bars.  But since the law took effect two years ago, prison officials have [predictably] refused to implement it…[Politicians] and oversight agencies have sounded the alarm in reports and letters to the New York Department of [Locking Human Beings in Filthy Cages] and the state’s Office of Mental Health, warning that the agencies were [predictably] violating the law [because there are no criminal penalties for doing so]…

 

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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[The Swedish model holds that] sex workers are all victims and their consent to sexual activity is—like a minor’s—irrelevant. – Elizabeth Brown

Held Together With Lies (#993)

With the number of people interested in “human trafficking” mythology steadily shrinking, the rescue industry thinks the way to keep milking the mathematically-illiterate is to continually ratchet their fantasy numbers higher.  Four years ago, IJM was claiming 40 million people; now they’re up to 50 million, or as they melodramatically claim, “The number of victims suffering could populate Australia twice.”  Expressed differently, they’re claiming 1.25% of the entire world population consists of “slaves”.

Secret Squirrel (#1332)

“Smart” devices aren’t, part umpty-eleven:

Domestic violence experts say that [“smart” automobile] features are being weaponized in abusive relationships, and that car makers have not been willing to assist victims.  This is particularly complicated when the victim is a co-owner of the car, or not named on the title…Controlling partners have tracked their victims’ cars in the past using GPS devices and Apple AirTags…but connected car apps offer new opportunities for harassment…[such as by] remote[ly] access[ing]…the…vehicle…to…[activate] lights…horns…heat…[or] air-conditioner…from afar…

The Last Shall Be First (#1351) 

Federal judges have already struck down similar bans, so this is pure political theater:

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed an executive order [last] Friday that will immediately ban gender-affirming surgeries for minors within the state…a week after…he…vetoed a bill that would have banned all gender-affirming care for minors, from surgeries to hormone blockers….the…[new] restricti[ons appear designed to insert bureaucrats into the doctor-patient relationship]…

The Course of a Disease (#1352)

Liz Brown on the insidious spread of the Swedish rot:

Maine’s [new prostitution] law…represents a paternalistic philosophical premise: that sex workers are all victims and their consent to sexual activity is—like a minor’s—irrelevant…In an Orwellian twist, U.S. activists have been trying to rebrand it the “Equality Model“—an egregious misnomer, considering that the whole point of this model is that those selling sex (largely women) and those paying for it (largely men) should be treated differently under the law…Maggie McNeill wrote the ultimate essay on this more than 10 years ago.  “The ‘Swedish model’ posits that paying for sex is a form of male violence against women,” McNeill noted.  “This is why only the act of payment is de jure prohibited: the woman is legally defined as being unable to give valid consent, just as an adolescent girl is in the crime of statutory rape.  The man is thus defined as morally superior to the woman; he is criminally culpable for his decisions, but she is not.  In one case, a 17-year-old boy (a legal minor in Sweden) was convicted under the law, thus establishing that in the area of sex, adult women are less competent than male children”…

An Avalanche of Bullshit (#1390)

I’ll believe this when and if it’s ever proven:

[Spooks] are [now claiming] that six high end brothels in the suburbs of Boston and Washington, D.C. were set up by a foreign nation as an espionage “honeytrap”…[which] targeted politicians, high ranking government officials and defense contractors…RussiaChina, Korea itself, or even Israel are al[l claimed] as possibly being behind the scheme..[one spook belched out “]false flag[” while making furtive movements in his pants.  A puritanical]…U.S. Attorney [vomited out drivel about] “accountability for the buyers“…[and another clown burbled about “]involvement in prostitution[” in order to make a very ordinary business sound scary so as to justify the huge expenditure of “investigating” people for having consensual sex]…

Torture Chamber (#1394)

Your “leaders” call this “correction”:

A California County is facing legal action after a 21-year-old woman committed suicide while [locked] in [the county’s cages]…Alicia Upton was arrested on April 19, 2022 [during a]…mental health [crisis]…yet despite her clear mental health distress…[she was locked] in…a…cell without safety features….and…on April 28…[she] hanged herself…using the sheets from her bed…18 people died while [locked in cages by] Riverside County…in 2022…and [a similar number in] 2023…[the] county…[also lies when] reporting deaths [by] labeling [legally innocent people] who die…[in its cages] as…”‘sentenced’ post-conviction prisoners” in reports to the Justice Department…

The Cop Myth (#1400)

Another cop murders his family; another “news” outfit buries the lede:

[A New York cop named]…Watson Morgan…[murdered his wife] Ornela…[and his] two sons ages 10 and 12…before turning the gun on himself…neighbors are having difficulty [understanding the concept of]…”a very loving father”…[cops] say the public is not in danger [from the deranged cop coming back from the dead to murder others, and absurdly barfed out the typical lie that a cop committing fatal domestic violence is]…an isolated incident…

 

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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There’s seemingly no policy turd that lawmakers are unwilling to polish in the name of “the children”.  –  J.D. Tuccille

Saint Death 

Apparently, popular and social media have played a large part in the global expansion of her worship:

…one Latin American New Religious Movement has reached Kyiv that perhaps few would expect: The cult of Santa Muerte – Holy Death…Dr. Andrew Chesnut of Virginia Commonwealth University, probably the foremost expert on Santa Muerte, says that the Mexican folk saint depicted as a female skeleton, from whom her devotees seek protection and favors, is the fastest-growing new religious movement in the world.  The skeleton saint went off the historical grid until the 1940s when American anthropologists “re-discovered her,” in Mexico. [The religion] became known to the larger American audience due to the television series Breaking Bad, as an object of devotion for Mexican drug cartels…the professor…[says] Santa Muerte “made her way to Europe via social media, especially Facebook and Instagram”…

If Men Were Angels

“Pastor and sex offender” is a large and ever-expanding group:

…Allan Kyle Jones…pastor at Lifeway Community Church in Loxley, [Alabama,] was [arrested and charged with possession of child pornography]…

Choke Point (#993) 

It always starts with a politically-unpopular group like sex workers or gun owners, but never stops there:

The House Judiciary Committee is investigating banks for sharing Americans’ financial information with the FBI without regard for privacy concerns…there’s no doubt about the threat to civil liberties posed by the government’s leverage over the financial industry; that’s long established.  At question in this investigation is whether…that cozy relationship is being wielded in political warfare between the country’s political factions…financial institutions have long operated as surveillance arms of the state, tracking transactions and movements, making assumptions about what they might mean, then turning that information over to government officials under regulatory pressure…based on idiosyncratic interpretations of vague laws and regulations…such power creates incentives to over-interpret activity as “suspicious” and to snitch on customers to stay on the good side of federal agencies…

Robocops

It’s rare that a court rules that some violent hooliganism is so stupid even a cop should’ve known better:

In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Waylon Bailey…of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, made a joke on Facebook that alluded to the 2013 Brad Pitt zombie movie World War Z.  “RAPIDES PARISH SHERIFFS OFFICE HAVE ISSUED THE ORDER,” he wrote, that “IF DEPUTIES COME INTO CONTACT WITH ‘THE INFECTED,'” they should “SHOOT ON SIGHT.”  He added: “Lord have mercy on us all. #Covid9teen #weneedyoubradpitt.”  That post went up on March 20, 2020…that same day, about a dozen deputies wearing bulletproof vests descended upon Bailey’s home with their guns drawn…[screaming obscenities] and arrested him for violating a state law against “terrorizing,” a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison…the Rapides Parish District Attorney’s Office [wisely] declined to prosecute Bailey.  But when [he] sued…[a] judge…dismissed his claims with prejudice, concluding that his joke was not covered by the First Amendment, that the arrest was based on probable cause, and that [the pigs were] protected by qualified immunity…the 5th Circuit [has now] ruled that…was wrong on all three counts…

The Mob Rules (#1303)

Stupid people want you to believe that anti-sex authoritarians “do not agree on much”, because red and blue pap:

[Maine politician] Lois Reckitt…intends to submit a proposal for consideration in the 2024 legislative session modeled after a porn age-verification law in Louisiana …[joining six other] states — Arkansas, Mississippi, Montana, Texas, Virginia and Utah — [in the monkey see, monkey do parade]…with unanimous or near-unanimous support from…[censorious imbeciles with the social sense of lemmings.  Unsurprisingly, the puritanical] Reckitt…[was also behind the scheme which recently imposed the dangerous, misogynistic Swedish model on] Maine

You Were Warned (#1359)

Some politicians apparently believe that KOSA doesn’t destroy the internet thoroughly enough:

…the Protecting Kids on Social Media Act…borrows bad proposals from another federal bill and combines them with legislative idiocy enacted at the state level.  The resulting concoction could destroy internet privacy, subjecting all our online activity to government scrutiny in the name of shielding wee ones from harm…the Protecting Kids on Social Media Act generates the sort of cross-aisle consensus that generally only accompanies terrible ideas.  The bill “contains elements of the dangerous Kids Online Safety Act“…and…doubles down on bureaucratic control and surveillance of internet activity…its authors find substituting restrictive laws for parental responsibility…a convenient excuse for imposing controls that people would be unlikely to tolerate under any other circumstance…the digital ID pilot program is the real warhead in this particular legislative weapon, since…[politicians hate] online anonymity.  The bill provides a clear path towards linking internet activity to identities so that, for example, politicians could identify their critics…

Unsafe for Human Consumption (#1366)

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

…Milwaukee co[p]…Adriean Williams had an unexpected [panic attack after touching a scary]…blue sweater…”It’s terrifying” [he whimpered, remembering the scary, scary fuzziness.  Then another cop wasted]…Narcan, a nasal spray that counteracts the effects of opiates [and can act as a placebo for hysterical cops who imagine they’ve touched magic insta-fentanyl.  Actual doctors have explained time and again that]…incidental fentanyl exposure [has no such] immediate and profound reactions, but [cops are superstitious children who imagine they know better.  This mass hysteria affected another of]…Williams[‘ cronies]…the very next day…[when he] believe[d] cocaine….[was] fentanyl [and had a 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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The Online Safety Bill poses a serious threat…and could put UK citizens at greater risk.  –  Apple

If Men Were Angels

Oh look, another “youth pastor”, what a surprise:

…Rejoice Lutheran Church [in Geneva, Illinois] hired the Rev. Michael C. Willis to lead its youth ministry in 2016…[he] was ordained as a pastor in 2022 [and accused of possessing and disseminating child pornography in March of this year]…Willis was arrested [on June 27th]…

Finding What Isn’t There (#1005)

Opportunists want to prop up the moribund hysteria by demanding government manufacture “victims” from thin air:

Human trafficking [opportunists want people  to believe their outrageous fantasies of imaginary]…traffickers operat[ing] with impunity…[and] predators rent[ing passive, inert] children for commercial sex, and [complain that] governments fail to implement [violent] enough action plans…governments [regularly] identify [far fewer “victims” than the rescue industry pretends there are]…governments around the world reported identifying only 115,324 human trafficking victims in the last year…slightly lower than the high of 118,932 victims identified in 2019…[even though] the [fantasiz]ed number…is [still] increasing [despite all evidence to the contrary.  Profiteers now claim] 27.6 million people in…forced labor or sex trafficking…

License to Rape (#1167)

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

…the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held 3-0 that the Federal Tort Claims Act allows lawsuits against the government when TSA screeners [sexually] violate passengers.  Two months ago, the Fourth Circuit held the same, and previously the Third and Eighth Circuits took the same path in 2019 and 2020, respectively…the government attempts to combine two laws to preclude any lawsuits against anyone.  First, the Westfall Act allows the government, when one of its employees gets sued for on-the-job conduct, to say, “sue us instead of the employee.”  This would not be a problem — the treasury is more likely to pay a judgment than a random TSA employee anyway — except they next use the Federal Tort Claims Act, which basically says…the government can’t be sued for…assault and battery when committed by anyone other than an “investigative or law enforcement officer.”  So the argument is: 1) you have to sue only the government, but 2) the government isn’t liable.  Luckily, now four appellate courts have concluded that TSA screeners are “investigative or law enforcement officers”…and the government may be sued for their…misconduct.

Peeping Toms (#1211)

Lawrence v Texas actually overturned these laws 20 years ago, but many were left on the books anyway and used by cops to harass gay men:

The state of Maryland has repealed the Unnatural or Perverted Sexual Practice Act, which criminalized any sexual act outside of vaginal penetration…the Woodhull Freedom Foundation submitted testimony in February…explain[ing]…“We cannot allow antiquated and discriminatory laws to remain on the books and leave us vulnerable to prosecution…This exact ordinance was used to arrest four gay men as recently as 2021…[despite] the Supreme Court’s ruling in Lawrence v. Texas…[which] Maryland’s ordinance stood in direct opposition to…

The politician who spearheaded the repeal was apparently motivated by the reversal of Roe v Wade, reasoning that the same court might overturn Lawrence.

To Molest and Rape (#1222)

He wasn’t a “former” cop when he repeatedly raped a teenage girl:

A [typical and representative cop] turned criminal defence barrister has been jailed for 16 years for the rape and indecent assault of a teenage girl more than 30 years ago.  James Boyle, now aged 69, w[orked for the] Cambridgeshire Police when…he [repeatedly raped his victim] between 1986 and 1991…The judge…[also fin]ed Boyle…£4,500…[and condemned him to] the sex offenders’ register…

I Spy (#1319)

The pretexts for such surveillance would not long remain limited to “child porn” and “terrorism”:

Apple has become the latest operator of an encrypted messaging service to raise concerns about the UK’s [misnamed] Online Safety Bill…join[ing]…WhatsApp and Signal in opposing a provision that would allow [surveillance & censorship agency] Ofcom…to use “accredited technology” to identify child [porn] “whether communicated publicly or privately” and swiftly take it down.  Apple is calling for the bill to be amended to offer explicit protections for end-to-end encryption…[because] forcing companies to scan messages for illegal content, even if using an approach such as client-side scanning, would fundamentally [break] this encryption and hence the privacy and security of users.  Apple previously [delay]ed plans to [spy on users in this way] after a backlash from privacy advocates…The government[‘s entire defense of] that the bill…[has been to repeatedly barf out the word] criminals…

The Course of a Disease (#1347)

Maine officially defines women as moral imbeciles, and men as our moral superiors:

Gov. Janet Mills signed a bill into law Monday that [imposes the Swedish model of] prostitution [law o]n Maine.   The new law…[defines women as unable to consent to sex when money is involved, in the same way underage girls are deemed legally unable to consent to any sex, therefore] eliminat[ing] criminal charges for [the specific crime of prostitution] while [defining men as full adults with sexual agency who]…can still be criminally charged…Supporters [of the model ignore both these legal implications, and the measurable rise in violence against sex workers and rape in general which resulted when the model was imposed on] Canada, Ireland, Sweden and France

 

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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