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Posts Tagged ‘Neither Addiction nor Epidemic’

The modern porn-addiction treatment industry…seem[s] to be feeding and enabling narcissism.  –  David Ley

The Public Eye (#660)

We’ve seen sex workers win elections in Latin America, but can one win in the puritanical US?

A [nurse practitioner] running for [office] in Virginia…performed sex acts with her husband for a live online audience and encouraged viewers to pay them with “tips” for specific requests…Susanna Gibson…streamed [the performance] on Chaturbate…and…more than a dozen videos of the couple…were archived on [another] site…[called] Recurbate…a Republican operative [snitched to] The Washington Post about them…in…an [attempt to harm her campaign.  Gibson called the outing]…“a sex crime”…[alleging that sharing the] videos [without her permission] constitutes a violation of the state’s revenge porn law, which [criminalizes]…“maliciously” distribut[ing] nude or sexual images of another person with “intent to coerce, harass, or intimidate”…

Out of Control (#1116)

What is wrong with doctors who do this?

For decades, patients warned Columbia about the behavior of obstetrician Robert Hadden. One even called 911 and had him arrested. Columbia let him keep…practicing for another five weeks.  Eight patients say he assaulted them in that time…To date, more than 245 patients have alleged that Hadden abused them, which by itself could make him one of the most prolific sexual assailants in New York history.  But the total number…may be far higher.  On any given day during his two decades…at Columbia, Hadden saw 25 to 40 patients.  Tens of thousands came under his care.  A baby girl he delivered grew up to be a teenager he allegedly assaulted.  Hadden…was sentenced in July to 20 years in federal prison — the result of a long, arduous process that Columbia often undermined…In agreeing to pay $236.5 million to resolve lawsuits brought by 226 of Hadden’s victims, Columbia admitted no fault…But the university’s own records show that women repeatedly tried to warn Columbia doctors and staff about Hadden…

Neither Addiction Nor Epidemic (#1278) 

Anyone who’s ever been involved with a narcissist will see the truth of this:

In 2012, when I first began publishing challenges to the concepts of sex addiction and pornography addiction, one concern I raised was whether these diagnoses enabled persons with personality disorders to externalize responsibility for their often selfish behaviors…Now, new research justifies my early concerns, finding that personality features associated with narcissism contribute to viewing oneself as a porn addict.  Past research has found that persons high in narcissism report higher levels of pornography use in general, and…recent research has found that persons higher in narcissism…are more likely to identify themselves as victims…Externalizing responsibility and blaming others are common features of narcissism, as persons high in narcissism rarely see themselves as at fault for problems or misbehaviors…

See No Evil (#1316)

Australian cops, bravely protecting imaginary children from imaginary abuse:

A[n Australian] man has been charged over allegedly creating and operating an online child exploitation game used by…paid subscribers…The…game…[featured lolicon] images, which [are criminalized] in Australia…[cops swaggered around pretending they had saved the world from some] insidious [evil while vomiting out moral panic shibboleths such as] “in our own backyard” [and]…”hold them to account”…

The Cop Myth (#1343)

Sleeping with a cop is one of the most dangerous things a woman can do, even if she’s a cop herself:  “[An Alabama cop named] Kenneth Booth shot and killed…[his cop girlfriend] Lexi White, then took his own life during an argument…

A Moral Cancer (#1356)

Because obviously prohibition doesn’t ruin enough lives yet:

Disposable vapes will be banned [in the UK under the pretext that children [are] becoming addicted to the devices…health ministers …[have] decided [to borrow the American propaganda that no adults like]…bright colours and [sweet] flavours…

Torture Chamber (#1358)

It does not help young victims of governmental brutality to infantilize them as “children”:

A federal judge ordered Louisiana officials…to begin moving kids out of the former death row unit at Angola, one of the nation’s most notorious prisons…U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick accused state officials of breaking “virtually every promise” they had made when announcing the plan to move [legal minors] to the prison…[screws] had locked [minors] up in cells for days at a time as a form of punishment, punished detained youth with the use of handcuffs, mace, and denial of family visits, and failed to provide appropriate educational and social services and mental health treatment…The ruling gives the state one week to move youth out of Angola…

 

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’ll kill this motherfucker.  –  Brian Williams

I’m sure most of my readers have seen any scene from Pee Wee’s Playhouse, Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, etc I might choose to memorialize Paul Reubens with, so instead I dug up the first thing I ever saw him in, which you probably haven’t seen unless you’re as old as I am or nearly so.  The links above the video were provided by Gustavo Turner; Radley Balko; David Ley; Brooke MagnantiFranklin Harris; Jesse Walker; Nun Ya; and David Ley again, 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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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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Anytime there’s a bipartisan consensus and a preachy New York Times op-ed, you can assume something you enjoy is about to get regulated out of existence or made worse in quality.  –  Liz Wolfe

Broken Record (#687) 

Sparsely-populated states are still clinging desperately to “sex trafficking” myths that larger states have quietly backed away from:

The Sturgis Motorcycle rally officially begins on August 4th.  [Blah blah pearl-clutching, lies about criminal charges, infantilization of women, and cop swagger]…South Dakota’s pheasant hunting season also causes a spike in sex trafficking in South Dakota…

The Last Shall Be First (#924)

If you didn’t see this coming, you haven’t been paying attention:

Christine Gallinaro [took] her [deeply autistic] 15-year-old son…[to a cinema] in…New Jersey…[and brought him] into the women’s toilets because there was no family one…her son, who…is non-verbal, “is not equipped to go into a men’s bathroom in a public setting alone”…However, the…theatre’s manager approached them in the…crowded lobby, shouting…“a grown man should not be in the women’s restroom” and “this is not a transgender bathroom”.  He then told an assistant manager to call the police [on them]…

Above the Law (#1142)

They usually make these cases sound like the rapist was doing his victims a favor:

A disgraced Wisconsin prosecutor secretly recorded himself having sex with three women, including one he was prosecuting.  Daniel Steffen…[of] Wisconsin…was sentenced to 18 months in prison after he was convicted in April…“While the defendant and Victim #1 are still engaged in sex, the defendant looks at the camera, sticks his tongue out, and winks several times,” and can be heard repeatedly telling the victim, “Who’s in charge?” the complaint said…In addition to his prison time, Steffen must serve two years of extended supervision, four years of probation, and placement for 10 years on Wisconsin’s sex offender registry.

You Were Warned (#1279)

The bipartisan war on the internet moves us another step closer to idiocracy:

“[The internet causes] sex…trafficking, drug[s and death”, bloviate perennial nuisances] Lindsey Graham…and Elizabeth Warren…in t[he] New York Times…What follows is a litany of untrue statements and gross exaggerations about the way Big Tech operates and the purported harm done by the cluster of websites that millions of Americans willingly use on a daily basis…Warren and Graham go on to announce they’re introducing [another terrible internet-breaking law] to create [yet] an[other government agency]…”charged with licensing and policing…tech companies” which will be “nimble” and “adaptable” (just like all those other government agencies).  The regulator will “prevent online harm” (by waving a magic wand and ensuring no bad actors ever go online); “promote free speech and competition”…by scrapping Section 230 and…”guard Americans’ privacy” (because government agencies do a great job at cybersecurity!…

Neither Addiction Nor Epidemic (#1293)

Blaming bad behavior on an imaginary “addiction” is the opposite of admitting responsibility:

[Actor] Terry Crews recently [attempt]ed [to avoid responsibility for abusive behavior toward his wofe and kids by blaming it on an imaginary “]porn addiction[” he melodramatically described as a]…”battle”…

It isn’t only celebrities who use this dodge to lessen their culpability:

[Indiana teacher] Christopher “Kit” Degenhart…[pled] guilty…to…seduc[ing a 17-year-old student in the theater department he headed]…Degenhart will spend one year behind bars while participating in a work release program.  After one year, he’s scheduled to move into home detention while working in the program for six more months…he…will [then] be on two and a half years of probation…[inclu]ding sex addiction meetings…[and] regist[ration] as a sex offender…

Thought Control (#1328)

Texas has figured out how to stop judges from overruling library censorship: simply eliminate libraries:

Houston…will be eliminating librarian positions at 28 schools this upcoming year and converting the libraries into “[punishment] centers” where kids [declared to have] behavioral issues will be [confined]…This…[is] part of the new superintendent Mike Miles[‘  “]reform[“] program…[with the Orwellian title] New Education System…a total of 85 schools…have joined Miles’ program, and of those, 28 campuses will lose their librarians.  The district said th[ose 28] will have the opportunity to transition to other roles within the district…[but] the [employment of the] remaining 57 NES schools’ librarians will be assessed on a case-by-case basis…

To Molest and Rape (#1358)

“Sexual offenses” sounds so much milder than “rape”:

The [typical and representative] chief constable of Devon and Cornwall Police is being investigated over serious allegations of sexual offences in Northern Ireland.  Will Kerr was a [cop] in Northern Ireland for 27 years before [being promoted] in 2018…he said [she wanted it]…

 

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 even think about [masturbation] as relapsing, because…it’s not an addiction.  –  Nicole Prause

Show and Tell

Was this unfortunate person the one who sent me the proof of Ashley Madison’s con game?

Will Harrison was terminated as an Ashley Madison employee in November 2011, and by early 2012 he’d turned his considerable harassment skills squarely against the company.  Ashley Madison’s long-suspected army of fake female accounts came to the fore in August 2012 after the former sex worker turned activist and blogger Maggie McNeill published screenshots apparently taken from Ashley Madison’s internal systems suggesting that a large percentage of the female accounts on the service were computer-operated bots.  Ashley Madison’s executives understood that only a handful of employees at the time would have had access to the systems needed to produce the screenshots McNeill published online…on Mar. 5, 2014, Harrison committed suicide by shooting himself in the head…This fact was apparently unknown to Biderman and other Ashley Madison executives more than a year later when their July 2015 hack was first revealed

To Molest and Rape

A cop posing as a masseur is still a cop:

A [typical and representative Ontario cop] who admitted to sexually abusing 11 women at his side massage business [has escaped with a slap on the wrist, namely] an 18-month sentence at home.  David Kukoly…was not a registered massage therapist but still operated his “Massage by Dave” business from his…home using a different last name.  Under the pre[text] of providing massages, he [molest]ed 11 women…between 2016 and 2018…[but] Justice Richard Blouin…decided against the Crown’s request for a four-year prison sentence…[and gave the budding rapist a mere] year and a half of house arrest [because cop]…

The reporter inserts “was not a registered massage therapist” as though a piece of paper could magically control sexual predators despite considerable evidence to the contrary.

The Puritan Recrudescence (#1124)

There’s a reason I’ve repeatedly called this cult “dangerous”:

…NoFap ideology tends to breed much bigger problems…suicidal feelings [are associated with] more engagement in the NoFap subreddit and related communities, and the more involved a participant [i]s with NoFap and other groups like PornFree, the more suicidal they report…feeling in response to their last relapse.  One problem with this—beyond the obvious— is that their “relapses” aren’t…real to begin with…because…people who masturbate to porn…aren’t actually “addicted” to it at all…there’s no objective basis for pornography addiction, an opinion supported by numerous peer-reviewed studies and experts in the field.  That isn’t to say that people can’t use pornography compulsively…but that it doesn’t fit in with the very clearly defined scientific idea of addiction, which involves a physiological withdrawal and a loss of pleasure in other activities…

Disaster (#1276)

Unfortunately, this is all we could expect right now:

The District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals…upheld the district court’s judgment against the Woodhull Freedom Foundation in its four-year legal battle to have FOSTA-SESTA declared unconstitutional, and rejected the strict scrutiny challenge proposed by free speech advocates.  Woodhull…was joined in the appeal by Human Rights Watch, the Internet Archive, Alex Andrews and Eric Koszyk…in January…legal observers…deemed the judges’ line of questioning as leaning toward the possibility of at least part of FOSTA-SESTA being struck down [but]…their new ruling…[declare]s that “neither Section 2421A of FOSTA nor FOSTA’s amendments to the Trafficking Act are overbroad or unconstitutionally vague,” [and] that “FOSTA’s c[ensorship]…comports with the First Amendment [because “sex trafficking”]…

Surplus Women (#1294)

Mexican cops are more concerned about sex workers’ lives than their US counterparts are:

A…suspected serial killer who targeted sex workers in Mexico has been arrested in Southern California…Mexican authorities are working to extradite…Bryan Rivera…of Downey, California who is believed to be responsible for the deaths of three sex workers in Tijuana…in 2022…

Thought Control (#1343)

Politicians are avid devotees of cutting off their noses to spite their faces:

Mississippi has a new law on the books [which effectively bans]…use of digital resources…for those under the age of 18…Even if granted parental permission, minors may not have materials available to them, if vendors do not ensure every item within their offerings meets the new, wide-reaching [political] definition of “obscenity”…[which states] any vendor is out of compliance by simply having materials available in their system which depict sexual reproduction or queerness in any capacity.  Images of nude female breasts…[even in] biology and anatomy books…would be out of compliance with the law.  Platforms like Hoopla and Overdrive are not set up to create systems which change access based on [politicians’ whims].  Library staff are also unable to preview and rate every item available within such platforms, leading to a position [where libraries must completely] shut down access [in order to protect librarians from legal persecution]…

Panopticon (#1344)

Cops will continue to do this until there are criminal penalties for it:

…The Electronic Frontier Foundation…has sent [Sacramento County Sheriff] Cooper a letter requesting that [his] Office cease sharing ALPR data with out-of-state agencies that could use it to prosecute someone for seeking an abortion…the…office…has shared license plate reader data with [cop shops] in states that have passed laws banning abortion, including Alabama, Oklahoma and Texas.  Adam Schwartz, EFF senior staff attorney, called automated license plate readers “a growing threat to everyone’s privacy”…and…a sheriff in Texas, Idaho or any other state with an abortion ban on the books could use that data to track people’s movements around California, knowing where they live, where they work and where they seek…medical care…71 [cop shops] in 22 California counties…[a]re sharing such data…in [direct] violation of a 2015 law [banning the practice]…

 

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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Anti-sex-work rhetoric…continues to dominate mainstream media.  –  Holly Randall

If Men Were Angels

One would think that by now, the title “youth pastor” would be a big red flag:

[A typical and representative] youth pastor [previously] charged with child sexual assault is now facing new charges…Jordan Huffman…jump[ed bail in Wisconsin]…and [fled to]…Florida [where he] was [caught and] extradited to Wisconsin…the [newly-reported] victim said the crimes began in 2017…[at] 12 years old…

The Puritan Recrudescence (#907)

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

The Texas legislature has passed a new age verification law that compels adult websites to post pseudoscientific anti-porn propaganda disclaimers declaring that “pornography is potentially biologically addictive, is proven to harm human brain development, desensitizes brain reward circuits, increases conditioned responses and weakens brain function.”  The measure, HB 1181, is a much-augmented version of Louisiana’s age verification law and its many copycats, and echoes the debunked “porn addiction” language of faith-based anti-porn groups…

Compelled speech is, of course, unconstitutional, but Southern politicians in particular seem determined to negate that inconvenient fact by wishing very hard.

Held Together With Lies (#938)

In case you ever doubted the danger of letting government dictate what constitutes “disinformation”:

YouTube [has] removed…an episode of the Holly Randall Unfiltered industry podcast, featuring an interview with…Elizabeth Nolan Brown debunking myths about sex trafficking spread by anti-sex-work activists, mainstream media and politicians.  YouTube [claims] the content was removed due to a supposed violation of its policies against “harmful conspiracy theories.”  Randall appealed the removal but YouTube [bots automatical]ly dismissed the appeal, [pretending actual humans] had reviewed the content…and [claiming that debunking harmful propaganda]…is [not] “safe”…YouTube consistently platforms…pseudoscientific and religious attacks against sex workers and the adult industry without flagging the frequent lack of factuality in those videos…

Winding Down (#1289)

Occasionally, cops’ lies are too outrageous even for politicians:

As of July 1…Maryland…law will allow adults 21 or older to publicly possess up to 1.5 ounces of marijuana.  In anticipation of that…Maryland [politicians] last month passed H.B. 1071, which will bar police, also effective July 1, from treating the [actual or pretended] smell of cannabis as sufficient grounds for stopping or searching pedestrians or cars.  Virginia enacted a similar law in 2020, and…Missouri and Illinois…have proposed the same basic reform…Any evidence obtained in violation of the new rules is “not admissible in a trial, a hearing, or any other proceeding.”  Notably, that includes “evidence discovered or obtained with consent,” which is little more than a legal fiction when people are waylaid by armed agents of the state with the power to informally punish uncooperative drivers…

Panopticon (#1316)

Cops will continue to do this until there are criminal penalties for it:

[Three civil liberties groups demanded that] seventy-one California [cop shops]…immediately stop sharing automated license plate reader (ALPR) data with [cop shops] in other states because it violates California law and could enable prosecution of abortion seekers and providers elsewhere,  The letters from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California (ACLU NorCal), and the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California (ACLU SoCal) gave the agencies a deadline of June 15 to comply and respond…Since 2016, sharing any ALPR data with out-of-state or federal [cop shops or spook houses] is a violation of the California Civil Code…Nevertheless, many agencies continue to use services such as Vigilant Solutions or Flock Safety to make the ALPR data they capture available to out-of-state and federal agencies [because, as is typical of laws pretended to control cops, the law has no criminal penalties for violators].  California…also [passed]…a[nother toothless] law…prohibiting state and local [cop shops] from providing abortion-related information to out-of-state [cop shops]

You Were Warned (#1337)

The censors are growing bold enough to admit their real goals:

Democrats naively (and incorrectly) believ[e] that because [KOSA is] called the “Kids Online Safety Bill” it will magically protect children, even though tons of experts have made it clear it will actually put them at greater risk.  Meanwhile, Republicans are now freely admitting that they’re going to use KOSA to force websites to censor LGBTQ content.  They’re literally proud of it.  The Heritage Foundation, which at least used to have some principled stances before being taken over by culture warriors without any principles, is bragging about how it will use KOSA in this manner…the enforcement mechanism in the bill is that state Attorneys General get to bring lawsuits against websites for not removing such “harmful” content.  And if you don’t believe that there are GOP state AGs itching to bring exactly these lawsuits, you haven’t been paying attention…

Torture Chamber (#1343)

Denying medication to people locked in cages is just a silent version of yelling “Stop faking!” at them:

Dexter Barry waited 12 years to get a new heart…In 2020, his long wait paid off.  His new heart allowed him to imagine a healthy life…But in 2022, after…[the state unnecessarily locked] him in [a cage] for two days [for arguing with a neighbor, and refused to give him] his life-sustaining medication, his body rejected the heart [and he died]…Barry told [both the pigs and the judge] at least seven times that he needed to take his anti-rejection medications every day to survive…[but they didn’t give a shit]…

 

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 might as well flip a coin.  –  Maria Hartwig, on “deception detection”

Saving Them From Themselves (#681)

This story asks us to feel sorry for a man who was hoist with his own petard:

…[A high] school [principal in]…Colorado…[has been] accused of possessing child pornography…Bradley Bass…is facing up to 12 years in prison and the possibility of being branded a sex offender [just as the teenagers he was trying to catch would have been]…Bass violated a Colorado law that says even unintentionally possessing explicit images of [legal minor]s is…having child pornography…The case began when Bass and…[his boss] Scott Hodgson…[seiz]ed [students’ phones based on a rumor and]…found photos on a few students’ phones, saved in the disappearing photo application Snapchat.  Worried the boys [might escape having their lives destroyed by “child porn” charges via the expedient of]…delet[ing] the photos by logging into their Snapchat accounts remotely, Bass used his work cellphone to take photos of the students’ phones…After police learned the administrators had taken photos of the boys’ phones, they arrested them [just as they wanted the students to be arrested]…

Absolute Corruption (#867)

The prosecutor in this case rode it to become attorney general of Massachusetts:

…Gov. Charlie Baker [of] Massachusetts…[has] recommended pardons for Gerald “Tooky” Amirault and Cheryl Amirault Lefave, who were convicted of sexually abusing young children at their Malden day care…in the [Satanic Panic]…of the…1980s…[despite] the…scientific [and practical absurdity of the claims]…Baker’s office included in its announcement of the pardons a statement of approval from former Attorney General Tom Reilly, who fought as Middlesex district attorney in the 1990s to keep the Amiraults and their mother in prison…

Welcome to the Future (#1191)

Calling 911 = calling the cops. Never call the cops for any reason whatsoever:

[A cop named] Eric Matthews decided Jessica Logan probably killed her baby before he talked to a single eyewitness or collected…any evidence…the coroner hadn’t [even] announced a cause of death.  What Matthews did have was a recording of Logan’s 911 call…[from which he magically divined that]…the 25-year-old…had likely staged the scene to cover up a murder…Matthews…reach[ed this bizarre, megalomaniacal conclusion because]…he had taken a two-day law enforcement training course called “911 homicide: Is the caller the killer?”…the [pseudoscience has]…spread across the country and burrowed deep into the justice system, largely without notice…defense lawyers and judges…often learn…[of] the technique for the first time in the courtroom…[but] hundreds of [cops and other sociopaths and psychopaths]…who have taken the course…now present themselves as experts, able to divine truth and deception — and guilt and innocence — from the word choice, cadence and even grammar of people reporting emergencies…

Neither Addiction Nor Epidemic (#1233)

Blaming bad behavior on an imaginary “addiction” is the opposite of admitting responsibility:

A…pastor at Faith Baptist Church in Round Rock, Texas who was caught with…child pornography…[tried to excuse his behavior by blaming it on] an addiction…David Lloyd Walther now faces federal charges for distribution, receipt, transportation and possession of child pornography…[includ]ing an image of a nude boy with a collar on his neck and being sexually abused, a similar image of a female toddler…images of nude young boys and girls being restrained by ropes and tools…[and] a bestiality video involving a dog and a female toddler “likely less than three years old”…

Property of the State (#1271)

Women of childbearing age should avoid Alabama entirely if at all possible:

Another Alabama woman has been jailed for using drugs while pregnant.  But this time there’s a twist: she wasn’t actually pregnant.  Her young child merely told a social worker that she was, according to the woman’s lawsuit against…Etowah County…[which locked her in a cage instead of just giving her a] pregnancy test…Etowah County… “has prosecuted more than 150 women on pregnancy-related charges in recent years,” Pregnancy Justice said.  “Of the more than 1,700 pregnancy-related criminalization cases Pregnancy Justice has documented from 1973 through 2020, Alabama leads the nation with more than 600 cases, and Etowah County leads the state.”  Freeman is now suing [pregnancy-persecuting cop Brandi] Fuller and Etowah County Sheriff Jonathon Horton…

Unsafe for Human Consumption (#1279)

Oh, what a surprise:

[A fantasy that] Halloween candy collected in [Calgary, Alberta was] tainted with fentanyl…is [of course bogus, but the]…RCMP are continuing to [search for some person whose life they can ruin on a bogus charge of]…illicit tampering…a[nother] woman [claimed that] that she found a sewing needle in the wrapping of a chocolate bar her child received while trick-or-treating on the same Halloween night [in the same small city even though it has ever actually happened anywhere since at least the Second World War]…

To Molest and Rape (#1286)

Think a non-cop would’ve been given a mere six years for this?

 A [typical and representative] Charleston [Illinois cop] who fled the country after being charged with three sex crimes was sentenced…to [a mere] six years in prison on lesser charges…David Iwaniw…pleaded guilty…to a charge of official misconduct…[for raping a 17-year-old girl and filming it]…Judge James Glenn sentenced Iwaniw to three years in prison on the official misconduct charge and another three years for fleeing the country, with credit for 313 days already served…[after the rape he told his victim that he would] “hunt her down if she told anyone what happened and that if she told, no one would believe her because he was a police officer”…

 

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 clear in a lot of places that there is just total denial of reality.  –  Alison Macrina

Torture Chamber 

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

[Bureaucrats who mismanage New York] city jails [were] recently [forced to] share…photos and videos from Rikers Island with assistant district attorneys in Manhattan, giving…prosecutors…a…look at the squalid and deadly conditions [to] which [they routinely condemn poor people who have not been convicted of any crime]…The…presentation…[included] a man defecating in his shorts due to a lack of toilets in the intake area and then being left in his soiled clothes for 11 hours until another [prisoner]…brought him new clothes; a [prisoner] locked in a cage shower for nearly 24 hours before he injured himself; and [prisoners] dragging sick people to medical care, and even administering chest compressions themselves, because [screws were off fucking around somewhere instead of doing their jobs.  People condemned to this hell-hole by]…prosecutors…face months, and sometimes years, waiting for court hearings…most…have not been convicted of crimes…

You Were Warned (#1119)

Indian politicians use the same high-sounding airy-fairy excuses to censor the internet as those in the West:

The…Indian government has ordered the country’s internet service providers to block 67 adult sites for violating a new IT law passed in 2021…using the…[rather vague excuse] of “tarnishing the image of modesty of women”…Although most mainstream Indian newspapers avoided mentioning which sites were the latest to be subjected to government censorship, India Express has published a spreadsheet that lists the sites, which brings the total number…banned by the Indian government to 857…

Choke Point (#1159)

PayPal is becoming an active threat to civil liberties:

Access to online payment systems is crucial for the innumerable individuals and organizations that rely on financial support for their expressive activity.  It’s essential to content creators’ ability to earn a living, to websites’ and other businesses’ ability to raise revenue, to fundraising by political candidates and nonprofit organizations, and to everyday Americans’ ability to consume content and support causes they believe in.  When payment processing services act as political hall monitors or moral arbiters…they present a grave threat to free expression.  A small number of companies dominate the space, allowing them to wield significant control over the speech environment by denying service to users who express disfavored views or wade into controversial subject matter…When consumer choice borders on illusory, any argument that those dissatisfied…should simply seek other payment methods is not particularly convincing — or realistic…

Neither Addiction Nor Epidemic (#1164) 

It’s always a pleasure to watch experts trash harmful sex myths:

Treatment for “sex addiction” is booming, even though it frequently destroys marriages and the individuals it “treats”.  It’s expensive, moralistic, and is obsessed with sex while understanding very little about it…most professionals offering sex addiction treatment (including the movement’s 1985 founder, Patrick Carnes) have no training in human sexuality.  Very few sex therapists—the country’s clinical experts in human sexuality—offer such treatment, because they don’t believe in the so-called disease.  But…the “sex addiction” concept provides the dignity of something that sounds like a medical diagnosis, which gratifies both betrayer and betrayed.  Sex addiction treatment simultaneously trivializes sex, and sees everything involving a penis as sexual.  The treatment typically ignores a couple’s power dynamics; how painful it can be to lose not just sex but touching and affection; the huge range of normal sexual desire and expression; and the simple fact that for most people, sex is about more than sex…

Thought Control (#1253)

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

In the last [few] weeks, at least a dozen public libraries across the U.S. received threats that resulted in canceled events and systemwide closures…bomb and active shooter threats [were sent] to public library systems in Nashville, Fort Worth, Denver, Salt Lake City, Boston, and other cities…some…[were] directed at LGBTQ events…[while] other[s]…seemed to have no obvious motive but come at a time when libraries and library workers have increasingly become targets of [political] harassment.  Public libraries were also closed statewide in Hawaii over [a recent] weekend due to an “unspecified threat”…[many of] the threats were received via digital reference points that allow patrons to communicate with library workers…through direct chat, email, or SMS functions…

The Next Target (#1272)

Most Americans still believe France is a sex-positive society:

A French Senate committee has issued a virulently anti-porn report comparing the adult industry with “hell” and recommending state regulation and censorship…The report is the result of six months of hearings about the adult industry…[dominated by] a group of feminist associations aiming to abolish all sex work…Le Mouvement du nid, Osez le féminisme and les Effronté·es…The…report recommends the [inven]tion of a new crime, “Encouraging a Criminal Act in Case of Sexual Violence in the Context of Pornography”…making it a criminal offense to even write or speak, without explicit condemnation, about porn that someone else or the state considers “sexual violence”…

To Molest and Rape (#1273)

Most rapist cops have multiple underage victims:

A [typical and representative] Philadelphia [cop]…sexually abus[ed] young girls and threaten[ed] witnesses…Patrick Heron…faces more than one dozen counts related to [rape, molestation and child porn]…”This is not only about terrible conduct, it’s about a…terrible effort at cover-up, intimidation and abuse of pretty much every process you can imagine,” [reformist DA Larry] Krasner said…

 

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 very much!

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Prostitution is a profession and sex workers are entitled to dignity and equal protection under the law.  –  The Supreme Court of India

Follow Your Bliss

The naive believe that “child predators” are creepy dudes who hang out at playgrounds; in reality, they are largely people in positions of authority over their preferred targets:

A [Missouri] man [named Scott F. Burow]…who spent more than 30 years working as a deputy juvenile officer in Missouri state court has been indicted in United States District Court on a felony charge of sex trafficking of a minor…[for paying a] 15 year…old…ward of the state of Illinois…[for sex] and…secretly videotaping her…

Policing for Profit

Cops will never stop doing this as long as the state keeps giving them pretexts:

A [gang] of [cops] conducted illegal searches and arrests in New Jersey as a pretext to rob residents out of cash…On May 26, a federal jury convicted Michael Cheff on…conspiracy…and…falsification of a police report…Cheff supervised a [gang] of [thugs who] worked together…between 2016 and 2018, [the gang regularly]…conducted illegal stops and searches of individuals in their vehicles, on the streets or in their homes and [robbed] them…Cheff…[got] a cut [in exchange for]…approving false reports…that…lied about…the…[armed robber]ies…

If Men Were Angels

The problem isn’t Catholicism, Christianity or even religion; it’s blind submission to authority:

A community rabbi from Jerusalem w[as]…indicted…for repeated sexual crimes against newly religious women.  Rabbi Moshe Yazdi…rap[ed], sexually assault[ed] and sodomiz[ed]…women while fraudulently obtaining their “consent” by telling them these were religious acts and therefore they had to submit to his demands.  He is also suspected of exploiting them financially.  So far, 10 women…have filed complaints against him…[revealing that] he presented himself to them as one of the 36 righteous people who, according to Jewish tradition, ensure the world’s continued existence at any given moment…Some of the crimes were committed against brides on their wedding day…

Neither Addiction Nor Epidemic (#568)

Looks like the judge didn’t buy his “porn addiction” excuse:

Josh Duggar, former director of the lobbying arm of the…anti-porn Family Research Council, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for downloading child sexual abuse material…Duggar was known as a reality TV figure for his role on TLC’s 19 Kids and Counting, a show highlighting his extended family…[which] TLC canceled…in 2015 after it was revealed that Duggar had molested members of his family and a babysitter…The Arkansas trial also exposed the failure of…”porn filter” Covenant Eyes, a business highly ballyhooed by anti-porn crusaders…federal investigators found that Covenant Eyes had been installed on Duggar’s computer so that it could monitor and report his internet use to his wife, Anna…however, an investigator reported that “Covenant Eyes was unable to detect Duggar’s internet usage after a password-protected network was installed on his computer”…

For Those Who Think Legalization is a Good Idea (#737)

Indian sex workers have awaited this ruling for years:

The Supreme Court…told police that they should refrain from interfering and taking criminal action against…sex workers…[who] should not be arrested, penalised, harassed, or victimised through raids on brothels because…sex work is not illegal and only running the brothel is unlawful.  A sex worker’s child should not be deprived of her mother’s care “on the ground that she is in the sex trade”…The court also instructed cops not to discriminate against sex workers who lodge a complaint, if the offence against them is of sexual nature…The bench observed that use of condoms “should not be construed by the police as evidence of offence by sex workers”…[but unfortunately will still allow cops to abduct] sex workers [under the pretext of “]rescue[“] and [lock them in cages] “for not less than two-three years”…The apex court also ad[monished media to take] “utmost care not to reveal the identities of sex workers, during arrest, raid and rescue operations, whether as victims or accused and not to publish or telecast any photos that would result in disclosure of such identities”…[pointing out that] voyeurism is a criminal offence…

The Last Shall Be First (#1151) 

Laws like this have already been declared unconstitutional by the 4th Circuit:

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt…signed into law a bill that requires students at public schools…[including] charter schools to use restrooms and locker rooms that match the sex listed on their birth certificates…Transgender students who decline to use the restroom required under the measure would have to use “a single-occupancy restroom or changing room” provided by the school.  The measure, which cleared the state Legislature last week, will take effect immediately because it was passed with an emergency clause.  School districts that [refuse] to comply…could be sued by school parents

The Next Target (#1151)

Prohibitionists’ real goal is to completely ban online sex work:

[Tobias Schmid, ] the local official behind the crusade for Germany to require age verification for viewing sexual content…is now seeking to expand to all of Europe the use of his new [surveillance] tool, KIVI, which automatically scans all online content to determine which images are not compliant with the law…KIVI was developed by Berlin-based Condat under…Schmid’s supervision and is now reportedly being used by all 14 state media authorities in Germany…to detect [images in] categories like “extremism, hate speech, swastikas or the glorification of drugs,” Schmid also included “pornography” as a target for the new surveillance engine

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Schools are using [cops]…to…do their dirty work.  –  Jackie Ross

License to Rape (#932)

Cops raping whores is so ubiquitous, others pose as cops to facilitate rape:

…hundreds of…men claiming to be [Irish cops have been raping,] abusing and harassing sex workers…The [attacks] range from demanding [sex]…worker[s submit to rape], to violent abuse, including [forcible] rape, choking, and assault…at least two [incidents involved] men…produc[ing] handcuffs and attempt[ing] to [abduct] the women…one such [rapist]…targets foreign sex workers due to their particular vulnerability and demands [they submit to rape or else face]…deportation…

Moloch (#1048) 

Pigs in schools are a menace which should be abolished:

…Across Illinois, police are ticketing thousands of students a year for…adolescent behavior once handled only by the principal’s office…Ticketing students violates…an Illinois law that prohibits schools from fining students as a form of discipline.  Instead of issuing fines directly, school officials [snitch]…to police, who then ticket them for municipal ordinance violations…Another state law prohibits schools from notifying police when students are truant…but…dozens of school districts routinely [violate]…this law…At the assembly-line hearings where…these cases are handled, students have no right to legal representation and little chance to defend themselves against charges that can have long-term consequences…fines can be hundreds of dollars, presenting an impossible burden for some families, and administrative or court fees of up to $150 are often tacked on.  Unpaid fines are sometimes sent to collections or deducted from parents’ tax refunds.  And, unlike records from juvenile court, these cases can’t be expunged under state law…

Disaster (#1072)

The FOSTA challenge is proceeding yet again:

Two human rights organizations, a digital library, a sex worker activist, and a certified massage therapist [have] appealed a ruling that denied  their constitutional challenge to FOSTA…an overbroad and censorious internet law that harms sex workers.  The plaintiffs, Woodhull Freedom Foundation, Human Rights Watch, The Internet Archive, Alex Andrews, and Eric Koszyk, have been challenging the law since it was enacted in 2018.  The district court…dismissed the case last month, [pretend]ing that FOSTA did not violate the First Amendment…

To Molest and Rape (#1130)

Calling himself a monster is the first honest thing he’s said since he was caught:

A [typical and representative] Boston [cop who was president of the pig union] is now pleading guilty to…child rape…Patrick Rose Sr…pleaded guilty to 33 charges in connection with the rape and abuse of at least six children…as far back as the 1990s and as recently as four years ago…Rose [was first caught] in 1995, but he was allowed to keep his badge for another 20 years…

Guinea Pigs (#1191)

This has been going on for years, and platforms do nothing to stop it:

[Pigs] of the Minneapolis [cop shop]…engaged in [unauthorized] surveillance of local Black leaders and organizations…as just one [of] a litany of other abuses that included “[murder]ing community members of color and Indigenous community members” at a highly disproportionate rate, according to a [new] report…[showing] a pattern…of racial discrimination…extending over a period of at least 10 years…includ[ing] the “covert use” of fake social media accounts to spy on local Black residents who were not suspects in any criminal probes…The groups included the local chapters of the NAACP and Urban League.  [Lying pigs] used fake accounts to gain access to posts they could not otherwise read…commented on posts, sent private messages, and contributed to discussions…[while pretending to be] like-minded individuals and claim[ing], for example, that they met the targeted person at a prior demonstration or protest…

Opting Out (#1199) 

The worse the idea, the more eager politicians are to ape it:

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe…issued a resolution…urging European nations to mandate online [censorship software] for “pornographic materials” on all devices, to be “systematically activated in public spaces, such as schools, libraries and youth clubs”…The PACE p[olitic]ians [also bloviated about… “addiction to pornography and…unhealthy sex.”  There is no scientific evidence for a clinical “addiction to pornography” and n[one of] the p[olitic]ians offered any definitions of what they consider “unhealthy sex” or…explained how these mandatory [censorship algorithms] would be coded and by whom…The…resolution includes a number of…suspiciously-sourced statements that seem to echo anti-porn propaganda by both religious activists and sex-worker-exclusionary feminists…

To Molest and Rape (#1220)

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

A [cop paid by the state to stalk, harass, and spy on students] was arrested by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for child molestation in Carrollton…Jerric Gilbert…[molested] an 11-year-old girl…

The TV station which produced this story felt compelled to defend a child molester by digging up someone to say what a great guy he is and how he never molested her son.

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