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Posts Tagged ‘Michigan’

If Men Were Angels

Cop + preacher = sexual menace to legal minors:

[A typical and representative] deputy district attorney and…Mormon church leader [named] David McConkie…[has been] granted permission to [hide out in] Utah while he awaits trial in 2024 in Colorado Springs…[for sexually abusing] a teenage [girl for]…several years…[she] turned him in when she observed behaviors in another [girl] she felt were telltale that McConkie was abusing [her] also…McConkie has been known since at least 2008 to have confessed to other Mormons that he had molested children

To Molest and Rape

If cop shops actually gave a damn about “misconduct”, it would be impossible to turn these cameras off:

A [typical and representative] Atlanta [cop, recently] convicted…of aggravated sodomy, has a history of turning off his police body camera before [sexually assaulting women]…Howard Portis…[was sent] to a burglary call…[and] once there…deactivated his body camera and [orally raped] the woman at the home…[but] was interrupted by…the arrival of a[nother cop]…The victim [was too afraid to] say anything [to] the second [cop], but once he left, Portis offered her $250 for sex…[and she] fled…to her pastor’s house down the road…Portis…has…been indicted a second time for [turning off his camera to rape women]…

Above the Law (#1263)

Totally credible, especially considering he was a cop at the time:

A woman has [filed suit against] New York City’s Mayor Eric Adams [for] sexual[ly] assault[ing her]…in 1993…while [Adams was a cop and she a transit bureau employee]…Mr Adams…claims…[she wanted it he] didn’t “recall even meeting” his accuser.  The legal action was filed under New York state’s Adult Survivors Act, which…created a year-long window for survivors of sexual misconduct to bring lawsuits that would otherwise have been blocked under the statute of limitations…Donald Trump and…Harvey Weinstein are among those who have been sued under the act…The woman is seeking $5m (£3.9m) in damages…

No Escape

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

A [typical and representative] Kentucky [screw has been] sentenced to [a mere] year in prison for [raping a helpless woman both vaginally and orally]…Tyler Hinds…will be subject to five years of p[robation] and a 20-year registration as a sex offender [after getting done with his sentence, which will not include being raped by brutal cretins with power over him]…

To Molest and Rape (#1364)

Sleeping with a cop is one of the most dangerous things a woman can do:

Raul Jaso [is a Toledo cop who]…was indicted [for] rap[ing his girlfriend while drunk]…Jaso…[tore] off her clothes…forced her onto her stomach and then forcibly raped her from behind…she found she was bleeding….[but] he…continued to [rape] her….and [twist her arms] behind her back.  She [went to the hospital and] nurses found that there was physical trauma…[of course] Jaso claims [she wanted it and just decided to get dragged through the ordeal of reporting a cop for rape because]…he got a text from another woman…

To Molest and Rape (#1391)

Cops should not be allowed anywhere near legal minors:

[Typical and representative Missouri cop] Jeffrey Prowant has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison without parole for…[sexually assaulting] a 14-year-old…[girl] and [taking] pornographic photos of her…

Buried Truth (#1393)

Another textbook example of McNeill’s Law, courtesy of “Moms for Liberty”:

Florida’s GOP chairman has been accused of sexual battery by a woman who says she was part of a [longstanding] ménage à trois with him and his wife, who’s a co-founder of [the pro-censorship cult] Moms for Liberty…The woman says she partook in a consensual threesome with Christian…and…Bridget Ziegler…[but] the [assault] occurred [at some time later] when Bridget Ziegler was not present…

 

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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I’m on a mission I have to complete by year’s end.  –  Scott Allen Schultz

The Kroffts dominated Saturday morning TV for most of the ’70s; it seems appropriate to commemorate the passing of Marty Krofft with their first hit show.  For those of y’all too young to remember this: yes, psychedelic counterculture leaked into mainstream culture in many ways back then.  The links above it were provided by Desiree Alliance, Stephen Lemons, Franklin Harris, Phoenix Calida, Lucy Steigerwald, Radley Balko, and Popehat, 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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He got so excited that I was bisexual, like, maybe he needed to change his underwear.  –  “Alison”

Without Let or Hindrance

Some still believe these sociopaths are motivated by “child protection”:

…an…anonymous caller, whom L.B. believes to be a former acquaintance with a grudge, has [repeatedly called] New York’s state child welfare hotline….[to] make outlandish, often already-disproven claims about her…[in order] to…trigger a government intrusion into her domestic life…Over the past three years, the agency either has [raid]ed her home or [molest]ed and [interrogat]ed her son at school more than two dozen times.  [Bureaucrats] have sought a warrant for only three of these searches, most recently in August.  All of those requests have been rejected by judges…[yet] it keeps happening, and it’s nearly always the same routine…[busybodies with cop henchmen] demand entry into her apartment, ringing her doorbell and, embarrassingly, sometimes those of her neighbors as well, at all hours of the day and night.  They [leer at] her child’s unclothed stomach and thighs, and sometimes take pictures.  And they interrogate him without her consent, covering topics like whether she has sex around him…L.B. [has now] filed a federal lawsuit against the commissioner of ACS and the city of New York…[because] her Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable searches and seizures has been repeatedly violated by the agency’s warrantless incursions…

If Men Were Angels

“Youth pastor”, “youth leader”, “youth minister”, “youth director”…can’t y’all settle on one term for preachy molesters?

Luis Mendoza…was arraigned…on multiple counts of…grooming and [molest]ing…a minor…[he was reported by the victim’s] parents…

Paint By Numbers (#1070)

Dumb “anti-trafficking” events are now mostly ads for sports:

[Several professional golfers collaborated with]…Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody for a celebrity golf tournament with a focus on [promoting “]sex-trafficking[” propaganda.  Funds raised from the Teeing Off to Stop Human Trafficking golf tournament…will [be given to cops to conduct pogroms against sex workers while spewing talking points and nonsense statistics]…

Monsters (#1300)

Never forget that this started with censorship of internet porn:

Russia’s justice ministry has filed a motion with the country’s Supreme Court to ban the activities of what it calls the “international LGBT public movement” as extremist…[due to] inciting “social and religious strife”…The extremist label has been used in the past by Russian authorities against rights organisations and opposition groups…The top court will examine the motion on 30 November.  The ban would make it impossible for LGBT organisations to operate and put activists and employees at risk of criminal prosecution…

Stupor Bowl (#1311)

It’s no longer unusual to see this type of article on “sex trafficking”myths:

Every year…a…public relations blitz repeats the long-discredited myth that major sporting events such as the…[Super Bowl] are a magnet for sex trafficking.  There’s not a shred of evidence to support it…so why does it keep coming back?…federal and local law enforcement agencies use this “trafficking hysteria” as an excuse to mount lucrative vice stings…renaming prostitution as human trafficking, pretending to rescue “sex trafficking victims” and saddling people with prostitution arrests…We are asking the media to ask critical questions.  Do not simply repeat whatever the police might claim.  Do not be complicit in this annual ritual.  Instead, speak to the sex workers who are being rounded up, harassed and criminalized to provide extravagant headlines for the police.

The End of the Beginning (#1373)

What kind of moral imbeciles condemned him to the registry in the first place?

In 2012, when Adam Nesteikis was 25 years old, his friend [a younger neighbor who had been molesting him, encouraged] him to pull down his pants in front of a young girl…Adam is intellectually disabled, which means he didn’t realize he had done something wrong.  He also didn’t understand what it meant when, after a trial, he was placed on the sex offense registry.  He just knew that for some reason, he lost the job he loved wiping tables.  He could no longer participate in the Special Olympics.  And he couldn’t scuba dive—his very favorite activity—because the club practiced in a high school pool and he was no longer allowed to be near young people.  Thankfully, this injustice has finally been remedied: This year, he received a full pardon from…Gov. J.B. Pritzker [of Illinois].  His record will also be expunged…

Served Cold (#1382)

The schadenfreude of watching Tim Ballard’s reputation go down in flames is so very sweet:

A female [“]operator[” for]…OUR…spent time with [Tim Ballard] on a private island, where he claimed to directly communicate with God, before shadowing him as he trawled massage parlors and strip clubs across the British Virgin Islands, despite there being no intelligence to suggest that…any trafficking was going on at all…In planning and execution, the [organization’s] work was amateurish and dangerous…it became clear to her that the OUR hierarchy was fully aware of what Ballard was doing…and…other top members of the organization…were themselves participants in the couples ruse…[her] story…depicts an organization focused on allowing its celebrity founder, who had become completely detached from reality, to live the lavish lifestyle of a wealthy sex tourist and sexually manipulate and abuse volunteers under the guise of saving children….

Looks like the cops are getting involved as well:

A woman…[has reported fallen rescue industry con man] Tim Ballard [for] sexually assault[ing] her, the first known instance of a…[criminal] accusation…after similar [attacks on women have led to] two civil lawsuits…

 

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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Data matters, research matters, and it all shows that the con[flation of sex work and “trafficking”] is just based on ideology.  –  Melissa Broudo

A Woman’s Point of View (#1228)

In Rhode Island’s case, this would be re-decriminalization:

A new report by a Rhode Island study commission recommends the full decriminalization of consensual adult sex work in the state.  The commission of thirteen individuals, including [politicians], sex workers, medical professionals, and [spokespigs], spent two years reviewing research and evidence, and listening to lived-experience testimonials, before releasing the report, which highlights multiple reforms intended to…promote the health and safety of sex workers…

Thought Control (#1256)

The more vague the law, the more authoritarians like it:

Iowa…[has pass]ed a law…that…requires schools to remove books that depict a “sex act”…unleash[ing] a frenzy of book-banning across the state, one that illustrates a core truth about these types of censorship directives.  Their vagueness is the point…Uncertain whether books…might run afoul of their state’s law, [bureaucrats nearly always]…decide nixing them would be the “safer” option…This week…Iowa…School[s]…released a list of 68 books…removed from schools to comply with the law.  Among the titles: Ulysses by James Joyce, Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood…The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison…1984 by George Orwell, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut and Forrest Gump by Winston Groom…

A Broker in Pillage (#1326)

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

[Pigs and spooks lu]rking at…Atlanta International Airport rarely find drugs on passengers at departing gates.  More often, they find money.  Records show [thugs] have s[tolen] millions of dollars from passengers at boarding gates.  The [robbery] is administratively [justified by belching out the magic words “]proceeds of drug trafficking[“] even [though] no drugs are [ever] found…[they] do not arrest the passenger.  They [simply rob them]…Most cases never go before a judge….passengers are forced to [somehow] prove their money “innocent’ on the spot at the airport gate or it’s s[tolen]…passengers are forced to pull up bank statements on their phones or otherwise provide proof the money isn’t from drug trafficking.  Merely flying from Atlanta to Los Angeles is suspicious, according to [porcine fantasies], because it’s a “known drug trafficking route”…

Stalkers in Blue (#1334)

Cops are sexual predators who often specifically target traumatized women:

A Greenville [South Carolina cop has] resigned after[being caught lying] about whether he had sex in his patrol car with another [cop.  But just a few months ago]…Timothy Matthews…was the subject of an anonymous complaint by a woman in the charitable organization Jasmine Road, a residential program for…wom[en who had bad experiences in]…prostitution…[because] he [repeatedly pressured her for]…her phone number [and bombarded her with texts after she gave it to him]…

Panopticon (#1346)

Bureaucrats who committed illegal surveillance refer to their victim as a “public nuisance”:

…the Michigan Supreme Court…has the chance to decide whether a municipal government…can circumvent constitutional protections by farming out the task to a private company…warrantless drone surveillance is [explicitly un]constitutional…[but] the appeals court…said that excluding any evidence gathered would be inappropriate, so the state Supreme Court can functionally determine whether local governments can do this and get away with it.  Multiple civil liberty advocacy organizations have submitted amicus briefs…argu[ing] that “if the Township gets its way, it will not only profit from its privacy violations, but open the door to other local governments deploying cheap, pervasive, flying surveillance devices to surveil private property for the smallest of civil infractions…Without consequences for arbitrary invasions into [Fourth Amendment] rights, no one can be secure in their person, house, papers, or effects”…

Shifting the Blame (#1360)

How many women died as a result of inaction by the murderer’s cop buddies?

Rex Heuermann, the New York architect accused of being the Gilgo Beach serial killer, has been linked to…the deaths of Shannan Gilbert and Karen Vergata…four witnesses [have come] forward with information about Heuermann…The first…went to Heuermann’s house for a sex party in February 1996 with her boyfriend, who was a cop, and Vergata…During that time, she spoke with [Heuermann’s wife, Asa] Ellerup, who…told the witness that she was “afraid of Rex”…the second witness…[i]s a taxi driver…[who] saw Gilbert and Heuerman together when she picked her up in the fall of 2009…[Gilbert was] “crying and shaking”…[because Heuermann had tried to cheat] her [with] an envelope of paper scraps instead of money…

The Next Target (#1371)

While Mastercard chooses to discriminate vs sex workers via an elaborate concern kabuki derived from “sex trafficking” propaganda, Visa prefers to burble reasonable-sounding rhetoric about “risk” in order to justify charging sex workers more money to access their services than other businesses.  Back in the old agency days, I simply lied to my card processor and called my company a consulting firm in order to avoid high fees, excessive scrutiny, or arbitrarily being dropped by the processor.  But things have changed a great deal in the past two decades, and there’s no way for an online provider to cloak herself as I did.  This article in XBiz is too dense for me to understand, but if you’re an online sex worker you probably already understand many of these terms, and may find it helpful.

 

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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[Amazon’s] assurance[s]…should…be greeted with a lot of skepticism.  –  John Davisson

Stalkers in Blue

Sleeping with a cop is one of the most dangerous things a woman can do:

In 2014, Bryan Bailey, the sheriff of Rankin County, Miss., [told]…the local district attorney’s office…he needed grand jury subpoenas…to force the phone company to turn over records of calls and text messages for what he [pretended was] a “confidential internal investigation…[of a] school district employee.”  But…[in actuality he abused] the power of a grand jury at least eight times over a year to spy on his married girlfriend and the school employee with whom she was also “unfaithful”…the district attorney at the time, Michael Guest…decided he could not pursue the case further because of conflicts of interest…[but] told two local judges…and passed his investigation on to the state attorney general…no one questioned the sheriff or conducted a full investigation…For seven years, every [politician] who learned of the allegations kept them secret from the public, leaving citizens of Rankin County in the dark, even as they twice voted to re-elect Sheriff Bailey.  He is on the verge of another re-election…facing no opponent in November…

Eavesdropping (#1183)

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

Amazon announced new [machine learning] capabilities for its Alexa products last week, based on a model it’s calling AlexaLLM (LLM refers to the “large language model”).  The technology will make Alexa “more personalized to your family” and allow it to remember relevant context throughout conversations…But along with those new capabilities…Amazon would use some user voice interactions with Alexa to train its [ML] model…by agreeing to use a more “customized” version of Alexa, users would be volunteering their voice data and conversations for Amazon’s LLM training purposes.  It’s not clear how much voice data is actually necessary to train Amazon’s models and to what degree it might be used for other purposes [such as handing it to cops without even requiring a warrant]…

Thought Control (#1226)

Idaho newspaper approvingly reports sheriff appointing himself chief library censor:

Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris…[barged into several] libraries…[with intent to intimidate librarians, bringing] along a video camera…he [decided to steal two books, named]…Deal With It!…and…Identical…[he then issued a babble-filled statement including words and phrases including “]sexually explicit[“…”]inappropriate[“, “harmful to minors”, and “protect children”, bloviated about an unconstitutional censorship bill wisely]…vetoed by Gov. Brad Little…[which] would have allowed a parent or legal guardian to sue a school or library for [a bounty of] $2,500…[then bizarrely pontificated on child psychology (even though he is not a child psychologist), and sexual health (though he is neither a therapist nor healthcare professional), threatened librarians with]…criminal [charges]…equate[d books]…to providing children with alcohol or drugs…[equated both adolescents and] the elderly…[with small] children[, and declared he would not return the books he stole]…

Cops and Robbers (#1287)

Who could have guessed that making a hobby of accusing strangers of felonies could be dangerous?

A [Michigan] man who [made a hobby of accusing people of being]…child [molesters for social media clout] was shot to death…[after accusing two teenagers] at a restaurant…Robert Wayne Lee…confronted [the] two [boys]…and punched [the 18-year-old, who]…pulled a knife…while the [17-year-old]…pulled a gun, shooting Lee several times.  The two…fled [but were]…arrested [the next day]…Lee…[was radicalized by] online videos by a group called Dads Against Predators…[who in turn] modeled their videos on…Chris Hanson’s “To Catch a Predator” segments on NBC’s Dateline news show [which were cancelled after Hanson and company caused the suicide of a Texas politician they tried to humiliate on TV despite his refusal to walk into their trap].  Lee…recorded online conversations and his in-person confrontations with the [people he accused]…In some videos, he can be seen [vandalizing his target’s]…tires to prevent them from driving off…he’[s]…mistakenly identified at least one person as a suspect, who was later cleared…

Permanent Record (#1354)

If prohibitionists really want to “rescue” sex workers, why do they keep shutting us out of other jobs?

A Missouri school district suspended a high school English teacher…after someone outed her as an OnlyFans creator…The teacher does not know who notified the school district about her account, “but she suspects it was after she and her husband appeared in a recent video alongside two other OnlyFans performers in St. Louis who have a substantial following”…she [only] made about $42,000 last year at her teaching job, and…she and her husband earned an additional $8,000 to $10,000 per month performing on OnlyFans…

To Molest and Rape (#1373)

There is nothing “shocking” about a cop abusing a minor or anyone else:

…a [California cop named]…Matthew Dessert…is facing serious charges of sexual and physical abuse of a minor…for around five years…[starting when she was 9 and continuing until] 14…[when she told] a school counselor…[about] the abuse…

A Moral Cancer (#1374)

Anyone whose brain isn’t rotted by prohibitionism could’ve predicted this:

Legal restrictions on the flavors of nicotine vaping products are associated with increased cigarette purchases, according to a new paper that analyzes retail sales data from 44 states.  For each fewer 0.7-milliliter nicotine pod sold in jurisdictions with such policies, the analysis found, consumers bought 15 more cigarettes.  “That tradeoff,” the authors note, “equates to over a pack…per pod for the size of current leading products” such as the Vuse Alto, which uses 1.8-milliliter pods…this…underlines the folly of trying to protect public health by deterring the use of electronic nicotine delivery systems…which are far less hazardous than combustible cigarettes…

 

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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Being on the registry…has been a death sentence.  –  David Kingrea

Property of the State

So, will Texas now try to stop people from crossing the border into Mexico?

Mexico’s Supreme Court [has thrown] out all federal criminal penalties for abortion…ruling that national laws prohibiting the procedure are unconstitutional and violate women’s rights…The ruling will require the federal public health service and all federal health institutions to offer abortion to anyone who requests it…Some 20 Mexican states…still criminalize abortion.  While judges in those states will have to abide by the court’s decision, further legal work will be required to remove all penalties…Mexico City was the first Mexican jurisdiction to decriminalize abortion 15 years ago…Argentina…legalized the procedure…[in January 2021, and] Colombia [did so early last year]…

If Men Were Angels

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

Jonathan Shaheen, a [typical and representative] Colorado Springs church pastor and music teacher, [was arrested for] sexual exploitation of a child…[because he talked to] a couple in New Mexico who were said [by some unnamed party] to be exploiting children…

Some of these articles are so vague they wouldn’t even be newsworthy were the accused anyone more credible than a cop or preacher.

Spotlight (#845) 

Asstoon has spent the last 14 years attacking sex workers, so it’s good to see him in hot water over his poor judgment:

Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis reportedly wrote letters in support of actor Danny Masterson during his rape trial, which recently found him guilty on two counts of forcible rape…[com]mitted…between 2001 and 2003…Kutcher wrote that Masterson “instantly” became a “dedicated co worker, and role model to me” when the pair began working together on That ’70s Show in 1998…

In addition to bankrolling a dangerous surveillance engine which uses facial recognition to out sex workers to the pigs, Kutcher is a delusional megalomaniac who has claimed to have actual godlike powers.

The End of the Beginning (#1290) 

The state should have to pay substantial damages to people it wrongfully condemns to its pariah list:

David Kingrea…[was falsely] accused…of sexual…abus[e by his ex-girlfriend’s son in 2011]…though…he maintained his innocence…[he] was found guilty [on no evidence other than the boy’s word, and]…sentenced to…12 months [in]…jail…[followed by eternal condemnation to] the Virginia Sex Offender Registry…[but] in the fall of 2020…the boy, who is now an adult, [recanted his lies]…clearing [Kingrea’s] name and getting him off the sex offender…[registry.  The state then fobbed him off with a mere] $55,000 [for twelve years of hell]…The Innocence Project…[has proposed a] bill [stating]…“that people…be compensated $25,000 per year for…[wrongful condemnation to the registry]…the person who wrongfully accused [Kingrea is] currently serving time in prison for an unrelated crime…

A Broker in Pillage (#1324)

“Program” is a helluva euphemism for “criminal conspiracy”:

Wayne County, which includes the city of Detroit, has long run a program where it s[teals] cars and cash from people police [decide to falsely accuse of “crimes” involving] drugs or prostitution…Now a federal court has severely curtailed this…[scheme as a] violat[ion of] due process…the U.S. Supreme Court has a similar case on its docket, so a broader precedent may soon be set…After [cops steal] their vehicle…people are [extorted]…of around $1,000 [to] get their [own property] back immediately or…the county [will illegally] sell the vehicle and pocket the proceeds.  People can challenge a forfeiture in court, but it is expensive and…takes…up to a year even to get a hearing…The court ruled that this period was too long, and the hearing needs to happen within two weeks (one judge argued that it should be within 48 hours)…

To Molest and Rape (#1365)

He wasn’t a “former” cop when he repeatedly raped a six-year-old:

A [typical and representative] Jacksonville [Florida cop] is in…jail charged with…child [molestation].  The case dates to 2005, when…Christopher Tyree…began [rap]ing her during sleepovers…when she was six years old…a prior 2007 criminal complaint made by two girls, ages 9 and 10, w[as completely ignored by his cronies at the time, as was]…a 2017 case…in which he was accused of inappropriate conversations with a 14-year-old over Instagram…

Dangerous Speech (#1367)

The Backpage trial has become an evil self-parody:

…government attorneys have — for the second time — asked federal Judge Diane Humetewa to exclude any mention of the First Amendment in front of the jury during the Backpage trial.  Yes, that’s right, prosecutors want no talk of free speech in a case that’s all about free speech…That Backpage should not be held accountable for acts of third parties who posted or responded to an adult-themed ad on Backpage — as long as the ad was legal on its face and, thus, protected by the First Amendment — should be self-evident to all…but…the government does not want a fair fight…

 

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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Far too often, journalists reserve their free speech defenses for people they actually like.  –  Matt Welch

To Molest and Rape

Seems like there’s more to this than we’re being told:

A [typical and representative] Detroit [cop] is on house arrest and facing life in prison after [rap]ing his…wife last week…David Apperson…was arraigned…on a charge of first-degree sexual conduct, which carries a sentence of up to life in prison…

You Were Warned (#1208)

Imbecilic judges side with censors & ambulance-chasers against the law and the Constitution:

…the 7th Circuit has decided…that Salesforce can be held liable for [supposed] sex trafficking on Backpage, even if Salesforce had nothing to do with the underlying crime, or any knowledge of it…because Salesforce magically should have known that Backpage was engaged in sex trafficking [even though it wasn’t], overturning a lower court ruling that had dismissed the case…this directly contradicts both the 9th Circuit and the DC Circuit, and appears to also go against what the Supreme Court ruled in Taamneh…The ruling, by Judge David Hamilton…and signed on to by Judge Doris Pryor…is…really bad?  Divorced from reality?  Driven by nonsense and moral panic?  All of those…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1305)

Cops really don’t care how many false positives these systems shit out:

Porsha Woodruff was getting her two daughters ready for school when six [cops] showed up…to…arrest [her] for robbery and carjacking…She was eight months pregnant…[but] Detroit [cops]…held [her] for 11 hours, [interrogated her and stole]…her iPhone…After [finally]…bond[ing out]…she went straight to the hospital where she was diagnosed with dehydration and given two bags of intravenous fluids.  A month later, two weeks before giving birth to her son, the Wayne County prosecutor dismissed the case against her…Woodruff is the sixth person to report being falsely accused of a crime as a result of facial recognition…[mis]used by police…all six…have been Black; Ms. Woodruff is the first woman…It is the third case involving the Detroit Police…Woodruff [has] filed a lawsuit for wrongful arrest…

Vulture Watching (#1343)

In which Texas tacitly admits it wants women with problem pregnancies to die:

A Texas judge issued a temporary injunction against the state’s abortion ban…[but] this injunction was itself blocked just hours later by an appeal from the state attorney general, leaving a final decision on the case to the Texas Supreme Court…Judge Jessica Mangrum issued an injunction against the law as part of a ruling in Zurawski v. State of Texas, a lawsuit brought by five…women who…were denied medically necessary abortions due to unclear language in the state’s abortion ban…”With the threat of losing their medical licenses, fines of hundreds of thousands of dollars, and up to 99 years in prison lingering over their heads,” the suit states, “it is no wonder that doctors and hospitals are turning patients away—even patients in medical emergencies”…

R.I.P. Jim Larkin

The reality of veteran newspaperman Jim Larkin’s untimely demise on July 31 at age 74 has begun to sink in, with remembrances, articles, and commentary appearing on social media and legacy media alike…

Creepy Coppers (#1362)

Cop is a cop is a cop is a cop:

A[n] adjunct professor at Utah Valley University [who was also a typical and representative cop] from California was arrested on multiple child pornography charges…Daniel Waddington…tried to record a video of a 13-year-old girl showering through a crack in the door…[he] told the girl he was just recording the audio of her singing, [but] the person who reported [him]…later found…more than 300 images and videos of child pornography…on [his laptop and phone, plus]…a photo shot up a woman’s dress or skirt in…a classroom at [the] university…

To Molest and Rape (#1363)

Cops should not be allowed anywhere near legal minors:

A Georgia [cop] was recently arrested…[for] molest[ing] a teenage girl…Patrick Benjamin Ventura…[fell under] suspicio[n because he was apparently molesting her while he was supposed to be working]…

And certainly not actual children:

A…Baton Rouge [cop named]…Demichael Robertson…was…[arrested for molest]ing a child in his care who was under the age of 12…

 

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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I saw more blood and fistfights and violence and threats…while I was there, than my entire life combined.  –  “Cameron”

The Red Umbrella 

What kind of mind uses violence against a marginalized group as an excuse to spew the same kind of propaganda which drives the marginalization?

…a man posing as a…[lying cop] shackled and abducted a [sex worker] from [Aurora Avenue in Seattle]…then drove her hundreds of miles to his home in southern Oregon, where he locked her in a makeshift cell in his garage…She escaped by punching the door, bloodying her knuckles, until it broke.  Authorities say they are looking for more possible victims after linking the man, Negasi Zuberi, to violent sexual assaults in at least four other states…The July 15 abduction is one of at least three cases in the past year in which police say women engaged in prostitution along Aurora Avenue had to make harrowing escapes or otherwise be rescued after being held against their will…Residents have noticed a dramatic increase in the activity since the pandemic struck in 2020, as the Seattle Police Department has contended with a severe shortage of [violent, out-of-control cops]…

Wrong.  Street work on Aurora increased when the government destroyed Backpage.  State violence vs. sex workers caused the problem; it does not prevent it.

If Men Were Angels

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

A convicted sex offender who is also a pastor at a [North Carolina] church has been arrested again for more counts of sexual crimes against [young boys aged 9-15]…Robert “Bobby” Price…faces new charges for incidents between 2001-2011…whe[n he]…was a youth pastor…When he was arrested in 2013…[it was] for incidents between 2000-2006.  In 2014, Price was convicted for…16 months in jail…[he] was released in December 2015…[hi]s current…work…as an associate pastor…[is] an administrative role that did not involve any contact with minors…

And it’s even bigger if you include “church group leaders”:

…former [Michigan] church group leader Michael Baxter…[was] sentenced…to…25 to 40 years in prison…[for raping] several [girls], ages 10 and 15, from 1996 to 2013…

Don’t Call It Trafficking (#667)

This isn’t called “trafficking”, while the same demographic choosing to sell sex to survive is:

STAR Guides Wilderness Therapy…bills itself as “the country’s premier wilderness treatment program for teens with technology, pornography and sexual addictions.”  These camps…[pretend ordinary] behavior[s authoritarian parents dislike constitute threats to] “the physical, mental and spiritual health of youth”…[which can be “cured” by] sending kids to the middle of nowhere—for weeks, months, or even years—with no running water, phones, internet access, or contact with the outside world…[this] seems like a disproportionate reaction to watching videos of people having orgasms…

Checklist (#1188)

Airlines:  do you really want to keep accepting liability for employees racially profiling passengers due to the government propaganda you feed them?

A white mother is suing one of the country’s biggest airlines…[because] it accused her of trafficking her black daughter.  Mary MacCarthy…filed suit…against the airline for “blatant racism”…seeking to change Southwest’s [government-approved indoctrination] and policies, after…[an] airline employee had assumed her daughter Moira, then 10, couldn’t be hers based on their differing skintones…

Surplus Women (#1283)

Cops can’t be bothered to investigate the disappearance of sex workers, especially black sex workers:

Remains of Jaynie Crosdale were discovered in a barrel floating in the Missouri River, mirroring the blue barrels found at Timothy Haslett Jr.’s home…further validating him as a serial killer. Alternatively, [cops think there might be]…a possible accomplice still at large, either collaborating with Haslett or operating alone. The Kansas City police department had initially dismissed concerns over missing black women in the area, stating claims of a serial killer were “unfounded rumors” despite conducting no formal investigation…

To Molest and Rape (#1341)

Cops should not be allowed anywhere near legal minors:

A North Charleston [South Carolina cop] is facing charges [for molesting]…a minor…David Don Watson…[was assigned to spy on, harass, and brutalize young people] at Charleston County Academic Magnet, however, this [victim was] not…a student [he was supposed be molesting, and he didn’t call it a “search” first]…

And here’s one from the other Carolina:

A [typical and representative] Mooresville [North Carolina cop]…was…arrest[ed] for [molesting]…minor[s and taking video of the assaults]…Matthew Edward Beebe…[apparently also had child pornon his] phone…

Served Cold (#1357)

Guy obsessed with child-abduction fantasies following his bliss:

One of thousands of patrons of the crowdfunded…child [“sex] trafficking[” fantasy] film Sound of Freedom was recently arrested and charged for child kidnapping…Fabian Marta was charged…in July…[while hi]s name appears in the movie’s credits among the “investors”…[the movie’s] release was…delayed…[until] nearly $5 million was crowdfunded [to get it out of hock]…The production [was then boosted by mass ticket sales to the same “investors”, making it look as though it was]…beating…the likes of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One [even though it was actually playing to phantom crowds at nearly-empty theaters]…

 

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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You have New York City saying…the guy who defends himself against the mugger…deserves life in prison.  –  Amy Swearer

This is another of those songs which was once well-known (enough to appear in TV commercials), but probably isn’t anymore.  Whether you’re familiar with it or not, enjoy.  The links above it were provided by Mike Siegel; Jesse Walker; Rick Horowitz (x2); Dan Savage and Clarissa; and Ally Fogg, 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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Constitutional protections are meaningless without remedies to enforce them.  –  The Institute for Justice

My Police State, ‘Tis of Thee

Politicians blatantly lying about project costs is especially vile when the project is a facility to train cops in “urban warfare” tactics:

In the spring of 2021, [an authoritarian group named] the Atlanta Police Foundation a[sked their political cronies to] put up $30 million for a p[opulation suppression] training center, [claiming] the nonprofit and its [fascist] partners would handle the rest of the project’s $90 million price tag.  That [lie] was repeated month after month, year after year, by one mayor and then the next…But…last month, city officials publicly acknowledged for the first time what [politicians and cronies] have known since at least August 2021 — the actual cost to taxpayers for the facility…[will] be more than double [the claimed amount]…The additional cost comes in the form of $1.2 million in annual [graft] to the Atlanta Police Foundation, re[sulting in an eventual]…profit…for the [fascist group.  As if]…that [weren’t bad enough], Atlanta City Council members…are…consider[ing] a proposal that [increases the] up[-front cost] to $67 million in…funding [stolen from the people the cops will be trained to inflict greater violence upon]…The funding discrepancies coupled with the state’s arrest of three training center opponents last week on [bogus] fraud and money laundering charges have heightened the stakes of City Council’s vote…

Don’t Call It Trafficking (#1088) 

Remember, this isn’t “human trafficking”, but consensual sex is:

The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office…has completed its investigation into the transport of 49 migrants from San Antonio to Martha’s Vineyard last September by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration and filed criminal charges…[for] several counts of unlawful restraint…Meanwhile, California’s attorney general [has] accused the DeSantis administration of recruiting…16 migrants from Venezuela and Colombia…fl[ying them]…from El Paso to Sacramento and then dropp[ing them] in front of the offices of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento…

Torture Chamber (#1116)

US politicians’ sick infatuation with “punishment” continues:

Being sentenced to a Texas prison shouldn’t amount to the death penalty.  But that’s what it may have been for hundreds…who…have died due to overheated state jails and prisons…Yet, unconscionably, the Texas Senate refused to consider a House-approved bill that would have helped remedy this inhumane situation by providing funding to speed up installation of air conditioning systems in state lockup facilities…Texas…prisons…reach…sustained temperatures well beyond 100 degrees in summer months…a study by researchers at Brown University School of Public Health…found that 13% of Texas prison deaths between 2001 and 2019 “may be attributed to extreme heat during warm months in Texas prisons without universal air conditioning.”  That’s a total of 271 deaths…

Panopticon (#1150)

Similar cases have already been ruled unconstitutional in other federal circuits:

Todd and Heather Maxon live on a five-acre property in rural Long Lake Township [in]…Michigan…Todd likes to work on cars, so they keep vehicles on the property but hidden from the road.  In 2007, the township sued the Maxons for storing “junk” on their property…The couple fought back and won:  The township agreed to drop the case and reimburse attorney fees…[if] the Maxons would not expand their collection…But the…township [wanted revenge, so it] hired a company to fly drones over the property and take pictures…multiple times…from 2010 to 2018.  The pictures allegedly showed that the number of vehicles had indeed expanded, so the township sued the Maxons for violating the previous agreement.  The Maxons moved to suppress the [warrantless] drone evidence as a Fourth Amendment violation…but…a…court de[clared] that the “exclusionary rule does not apply in this civil matter”…The Institute for Justice…which represented the Maxons in their initial litigation, appealed the decision to the Michigan Supreme Court in September…

The Mob Rules (#1303)

Apparently there haven’t been enough nuisance lawsuits for Louisiana politicians’ taste:

Louisiana [politician]s are [doubling down on] a recently enacted law that requires pornography websites verify users are at least 18 years old…The Senate gave unanimous final passage to a bill…that would allow the Louisiana attorney general to investigate and fine — up to $5,000 a day…websites that do not comply with the age verification law [after the same politicians declare them “pornographic”]…

Panopticon (#1308)

The conditioning of kids to accept constant, intrusive surveillance is working:

In a newly released Cato Institute…National Survey of 2,000 Americans, we asked respondents whether they “favor or oppose the government installing surveillance cameras in every household to reduce domestic violence, abuse, and other illegal activity.”  Not surprisingly, few Americans—only 14 percent—support this idea…However, Americans under the age of 30 stand out when it comes to 1984‐​style in‐​home government surveillance cameras.  3 in 10 (29 percent) Americans under 30 favor…[this kind of dystopian] surveillance…Support declines with age, dropping to 20 percent among 30–44 year olds and dropping considerably to 6 percent among those over the age of 45.  We don’t know how much of this preference for security over privacy or freedom is something unique to this generation (a cohort effect) or simply the result of youth (age effect)…

The Last Shall Be First (#1338) 

The damage done by prohibition is never limited to the group a law is openly aimed at:

[Publicity] surrounding Florida’s new restrictions on gender-affirming care focused largely on [legal minors]…but…[the] law…also made it difficult – even impossible – for many transgender adults to get treatment…[because] clinics are…trying to figure out how to operate under regulations that have made Florida a test case for restrictions on adults…[such as the] require[ment that]…any health care related to transitioning [must be supervised by an MD, and]…in person…many people received care from nurse practitioners and used telehealth.  The law also made it a crime to violate the new requirements…

 

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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