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Posted in History, Miscellaneous, Philosophy, Tyranny, Words, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 19, 2026| Leave a Comment »

The happy ending here is that despite all their ridiculous mumbo-jumbo and frantic posturing, Death will win as it always does.Ave Mortis, Imperator Mundi.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-13T18:51:08.690Z

Lost Generation: 1890-1910 (roughly)"Greatest" Generation: 1911-1928Beat generation: 1929-1945Baby Boom: 1946-1963Generation X: 1964-1981Millennials: 1982-2000Generation Z: 2001-2018Generation Alpha: 2019-2036 (end subject to change, depending)

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-13T21:00:54.989Z

Given the corrupting effect of power, the most powerful person on the planet will INEVITABLY become the worst person on the planet, even if he wasn't to start with.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-15T18:12:36.252Z

"What if flapping your arms very hard will enable you to fly?"

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-16T18:08:56.505Z

A *big* step up from letting politicians decide.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-18T18:06:59.349Z

A one predisposed to disobedience since childhood, who has suffered social censure for that inclination since the early 1970s, I've always viewed the American self-image as "rebellious" as a crock of self-aggrandizing bullshit.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-19T19:42:19.764Z

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-20T02:48:07.776Z

My paternal line did not emigrate to America; America bought our home from Napoleon. IOW America chose *us* rather than vice-versa.My late friend Grace's ancestors were here long before the 1st Europeans.And both of us would tell you that people sworn in this morning are just as American as us.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-20T18:19:01.037Z

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-22T03:55:50.740Z

My X's anniversary is also MY anniversary, though I would nor more expect a computer to grasp that than I would trust it to compose a post on the topic, presuming I was such a narcissist that I would request such a childish thing.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-23T18:10:08.836Z

On the First Day of Christmas my true love gave to me:

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-25T17:28:38.681Z

The process of obtaining a literature degree taught me that "literary" fiction is rarely better than genre fiction, and frequently worse.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-26T18:03:49.571Z

I have often said that modern US "conservatives" long for an imaginary past, while modern US "progressives" long for an imaginary future.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-27T18:28:49.015Z

The very fact that there is no murderer registry tells you everything you need to know about the "sex offender" registry.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-29T18:15:33.474Z

So basically, the entire movie is a Rickroll.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-30T08:08:05.987Z

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-31T17:50:42.716Z

What book is sacred enough to you to get sworn in on?

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-01-02T18:45:41.673Z

Slopmaker who makes money from slop wants you to move beyond wanting quality and embrace his slop.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-01-03T08:33:17.438Z

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-01-04T02:41:43.416Z

Axolotls always make me smile. I mean, look at this cute little booger! See its happy little face? How could you not smile?

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-01-04T08:10:14.387Z

How many branches of the Vichy government did General de Gaulle control?

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-01-05T18:17:30.100Z

Psychosis is a reason, just not a sane one.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-01-06T07:57:18.251Z

Collectivism is a mental illness.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-01-08T18:07:26.157Z

Mammon. The Biblical name for this deity is Mammon. As in, "Ye cannot serve God and Mammon."

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-01-09T17:59:08.165Z

Mrs. Boudreaux, please get off the line; we really need to make a call. I promise we'll be off in five minutes.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-01-10T18:01:58.758Z

My turn! It just dawned on me that if the ICE agent were a circus clown, and the woman the ghost of Anne Boleyn, and the roles were reversed, but the ghost threw her head at the clown instead of shooting him, he could juggle it and The Coulrophobia Lobby would be fully on the side of the ghost.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-01-11T03:59:55.538Z

That is such a cute little piggy though, definitely MUCH cuter than any cop deserves.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-01-12T19:58:14.596Z

Good grief, my Barbie was a scientist despite having come in an ordinary Barbie box rather than a "scientist" box with a lab coat.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-01-13T18:48:52.787Z

"Sorry, neither."

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-01-14T08:56:39.781Z

Perhaps if you'd stop calling politicians "leaders", they'd stop treating y'all like followers.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-01-15T08:27:31.066Z

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-01-16T19:00:03.300Z

A national treasure.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-01-17T18:58:44.504Z

Mu.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-01-18T18:25:47.300Z

 

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Links #811

Posted in Current Events, History, Links, Miscellaneous, Music, Obituary, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , on January 18, 2026| Leave a Comment »

We’re now employing people who are not equipped to tie their own shoelaces.

I can’t think of a more appropriate sendoff for Bob Weir than this one.  The links above it were provided by Popehat; Brooke Magnanti and Jesse Walker; The Onion; Phoenix Calida; IncarcerNation; and Walter Olson, 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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Throwback Thursday Untold

Posted in Miscellaneous, Perception, Philosophy, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 15, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Cops and prosecutors use the slur “sex trafficking ring” to mean anything from a broken-down pimp to an ordinary escort service to a sex worker ad site.  –  “Taking the Bait”

Claims about what politicians and bureaucrats “intended”…are…nothing but an excuse for evil.
–  “The Road to Hell”

“AI” is a fantasy of techies, journalists, and hack sci-fi writers.  –  “Artificial ‘Intelligence’?”

It’s easy to “disprove” anything if you’re allowed to change the conditions.
–  “Infinite Monkeys”

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Donald the Turtle

Posted in Fiction, Philosophy, Tyranny, tagged , , on January 12, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Most people today think of Theodor Seuss Geisel as an author and illustrator of children’s books, but in the 1930s and 1940s he was best known as an advertising and political cartoonist. He would later use his children’s books to teach simple moral and political lessons, such as this one about tyranny from the early 1950s.  Given that his books are no longer as universally read as they once were, you may be unfamiliar with it, but unlike the last couple of times I’ve used the good Doctor to illustrate a point, this time I didn’t need to change a single word.

Οn the far-away Island of Sala-ma-Sond,
Yertle the Turtle was king of the pond.
A nice little pond. It was clean. It was neat.
The water was warm. There was plenty to eat.
The turtles had everything turtles might need.
And they were all happy. Quite happy indeed.

They were… until Yertle, the king of them all,
Decided the kingdom he ruled was too small.
“I’m ruler,” said Yertle, “of all that I see.
But I don’t see enough. That’s the trouble with me.
With this stone for a throne, I look down on my pond
But I cannot look down on the places beyond.
This throne that I sit on is too, too low down.
It ought to be higher!” he said with a frown.
“If I could sit high, how much greater I’d be!
What a king! I’d be ruler of all I could see!”

So Yertle, the Turtle King, lifted his hand
And Yertle, the Turtle King, gave a command.
He ordered nine turtles to swim to his stone
And, using these turtles, he built a new throne.
He made each turtle stand on another one’s back
And he piled them all up in a nine-turtle stack.
And then Yertle climbed up. He sat down on the pile.
What a wonderful view! He could see ‘most a mile!

“All mine!” Yertle cried. “Oh, the things I now rule!
I’m king of a cow! And I’m king of a mule!
I’m king of a house! And, what’s more, beyond that,
I’m king of a blueberry bush and a cat!
I’m Yertle the Turtle! Oh, marvelous me!
For I am the ruler of all that I see!”

And all through that morning, he sat there up high
Saying over and over, “A great king am I!”
Until ‘long about noon. Then he heard a faint sigh.
“What’s that?” snapped the king
And he looked down the stack.
And he saw, at the bottom, a turtle named Mack.
Just a part of his throne. And this plain little turtle
Looked up and he said, “Beg your pardon, King Yertle.
“I’ve pains in my back and my shoulders and knees.
How long must we stand here, Your Majesty, please?”

“SILENCE!” the King of the Turtles barked back.
“I’m king, and you’re only a turtle named Mack.
You stay in your place while I sit here and rule.
I’m king of a cow! And I’m king of a mule!
I’m king of a house! And a bush! And a cat!
But that isn’t all. I’ll do better than that!
My throne shall be higher!” his royal voice thundered,
“So pile up more turtles! I want ’bout two hundred!”

“Turtles! More turtles!” he bellowed and brayed.
And the turtles ‘way down in the pond were afraid.
They trembled. They shook. But they came. They obeyed.
From all over the pond, they came swimming by dozens.
Whole families of turtles, with uncles and cousins.
And all of them stepped on the head of poor Mack.
One after another, they climbed up the stack.

THEN Yertle the Turtle was perched up so high,
He could see forty miles from his throne in the sky!
“Hooray!” shouted Yertle. “I’m king of the trees!
I’m king of the birds! And I’m king of the bees!
I’m king of the butterflies! King of the air!
Ah, me! What a throne! What a wonderful chair!
I’m Yertle the Turtle! Oh, marvelous me!
For I am the ruler of all that I see!”

Then again, from below, in the great heavy stack,
Came a groan from that plain little turtle named Mack.
“Your Majesty, please… I don’t like to complain,
But down here below, we are feeling great pain.
I know, up on top you are seeing great sights,
But down at the bottom we, too, should have rights.
We turtles can’t stand it. Our shells will all crack!
Besides, we need food. We are starving!” groaned Mack.

“You hush up your mouth!” howled the mighty King Yertle.
“You’ve no right to talk to the world’s highest turtle.
I rule from the clouds! Over land! Over sea!
There’s nothing, no, NOTHING, that’s higher than me!”

But, while he was shouting, he saw with surprise
That the moon of the evening was starting to rise
Up over his head in the darkening skies.
“What’s THAT?” snorted Yertle. “Say, what IS that thing
That dares to be higher than Yertle the King?
I shall not allow it! I’ll go higher still!
I’ll build my throne higher! I can and I will!
I’ll call some more turtles. I’ll stack ’em to heaven!
I need ’bout five thousand, six hundred and seven!”

But, as Yertle, the Turtle King, lifted his hand
And started to order and give the command,
That plain little turtle below in the stack,
That plain little turtle whose name was just Mack,
Decided he’d taken enough. And he had.
And that plain little lad got a little bit mad
And that plain little Mack did a plain little thing.
He burped!
And his burp shook the throne of the king!

And Yertle the Turtle, the king of the trees,
The king of the air and the birds and the bees,
The king of a house and a cow and a mule…
Well, that was the end of the Turtle King’s rule!
For Yertle, the King of all Sala-ma-Sond,
Fell off his high throne and fell Plunk! in the pond!

And today the great Yertle, that Marvelous he,
Is King of the Mud. That is all he can see.
And the turtles, of course… all the turtles are free
As turtles and, maybe, all creatures should be.

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Links #810

Posted in Current Events, History, Links, Miscellaneous, Music, Obituary, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on January 11, 2026| Leave a Comment »

There’s a bear under my house, and there’s nothing I can do about it!  –  Ken Johnson

I think my old friend Terry would’ve loved this video, provided by Mike Masnick; he also provided the first link above it, and those after that were provided by Jason Kuznicki, Nun Ya, Jesse Walker, The Onion, 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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New Year’s Eve 2025

Posted in History, Perception, Philosophy, The Dark Side, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , on December 31, 2025| Leave a Comment »

The moral panic is over, but its rotten fruit have burst, spewing xenophobic, anti-sex, authoritarian poison all over American society.  – “New Year’s Eve 2024“

It would be absurd to lay all of the blame for Trump’s reign of terror on the “sex trafficking” moral panic, but it is accurate to point out that Trumpism sprang from the same deep strain of xenophobic authoritarianism which gave rise to both iterations of “sex trafficking” hysteria, the Satanic Panic, two Red scares, the War on Drugs, and innumerable lesser social diseases, and which has permeated American society like a cancer since Plymouth Rock.  And furthermore, it is Americans’ collective refusal to recognize this, and to respect the checks, balances, restrictions, and limitations on government power established by the Founders, which has allowed the mad emperor and his henchmen to so quickly demolish every single guardrail designed to make things difficult for tyrants.  A sizable minority of the population has convinced itself that the collapse of American norms started with Trump and will end with Trump, but of course this is a fantasy to comfort children; the final Constitutional collapse started 24 years ago, with the sweeping abrogations of its safeguards begun by Bush the Younger to thundering applause from the mob and its soi-disant “leaders”.  The “sex trafficking” hysteria and Trumpism are both symptoms of one underlying problem, and the former has now been reduced to a tool of the latter.  As I wrote last year,

Trumpists are still vomiting out “sex trafficking” myths in support of their anti-migrant, anti-LGBT, anti-porn, and anti-brown people agendas; cops still use the propaganda to justify raping Asian sex workers; gullible stenographers who dare to call themselves “journalists” still uncritically repeat copaganda; and even those who have finally admitted that the “trafficking” mythology is a load of dingo’s kidneys now label it a “right-wing conspiracy theory” and refuse to admit their own culpability for the society-wide toxic effects of the racist, misogynistic wanking fantasy they helped spread for so long.  The ascendance of Trumpism and the re-criminalization of abortion across much of the US are the direct results of that ugly narrative, and both book-burning crusades and the widespread demonization of anything to do with LGBT people are other offshoots of the same noxious root system which, had it been dug out and burned in the Oughts, would have been neither robust enough nor extensive enough to engender such toxic growths.

I no longer have words of consolation.  Though I have been predicting the collapse of the American Empire for decades, I did not foresee that the process of collapse would be so rapid and complete, nor that it would happen within my lifetime; I envisioned a slow disintegration over years, not an implosion over a few months.  And because of that, I am unable to predict what may happen next, other than that it will involve some form of Balkanization; perhaps by this time next year, I’ll have some inkling.  But I’m not counting on it.

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Links #808

Posted in Current Events, Links, Miscellaneous, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on December 28, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Only Stalin and North Korea’s Kim dynasty have ever reached this level of absurdity.  –  Nina L. Khrushcheva

There aren’t many seasonal videos any more, but once in a while it’s possible to stumble upon a good one.  The links above the video were provided by Nun Ya, Charles Hill, David Ley, Mike Masnick (x2), and Franklin Harris, in that order.

From the Archives

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

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In the News (#1600)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Obituary, Perception, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on December 27, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[Public libraries]…exist so that no one—not a church, not a politician, not a board—gets to decide who deserves access to the truth.  –  Keri Lambert

R.I.P. Tracy Elise

Tracy Elise Johnson…died on Nov. 17, 2025…[of] glioblastoma…In the 1990s…she developed a framework she called “female-led sacred healing through the body-temple,” eventually founding spiritual communities in Seattle and later Arizona devoted to…tantra-informed teachings…and ancient feminine-centered traditions.  She envisioned her ministry as a modern revival of global goddess temples, grounded in the belief that women’s bodies are inherently sacred and healing.  [From 2012 to] 2016, her spiritual work [was used as an excuse for years of persecution by the State].  She chose integrity over convenience, enduring years of hardship, incarceration, and supervision without renouncing her beliefs.  Her story, later covered internationally, became…evidence of how our culture still struggles to honor the sacred feminine without fear…

If Men Were Angels (#1455)

“Ministered to” is a hell of a euphemism for “molested”:

Joe Campbell, a Pentecostal preacher who for half a century ministered to thousands of children across four states, has been arrested on child sex abuse charges…in Elkland, Missouri…where he [now awaits extradition] to Oklahoma…[and possible] life in prison…[for multiple cases of rape and other] sexual…abuse…in the 1970s and ’80s when he was an Assemblies of God minister…one of th[e first to accuse him was] Kerri…Jackson, now 53, [whom] he molested…for years in Tulsa in the early 1980s, beginning when she was around 9…some of the [victims have] pursued [justice] for most of their lives…Past attempts…in Oklahoma and Missouri failed [due to stonewalling by] police and prosecutors…But the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office…[is now] applying a frontier-era statute that pauses the statute of limitations for suspects who flee…elsewhere.  Prosecutors recently used the same legal theory [against typical and representative] megachurch pastor Robert Morris…Oklahoma…authorities[‘ change of heart was motivated by an]…NBC News [investigation] published…in May…children [were taught by] their parents…to [see]…Campbell as an almost mythical figure…with [magical] power to…cast out demons and heal the sick.  He gr[oomed]…girls from broken homes…and…was…[at first protected by] Assemblies of God officials…[until] 1988…Around 1990, he founded a nondenominational church [which]…became a refuge for…convicted sex offenders…

Thought Control (#1491)

Surely you didn’t think they’d be satisfied with only threatening librarians and teachers:

…[Luanne James, the] newly hired library director [of Rutherford County, Tennessee]…asked [the library board] for whistleblower protection….[after] board chair [Cody York] direct[ed] her to [censor books at his sole say-so] and to…produce a spreadsheet listing [the] names, home addresses…and [other information about any patron who had checked out one of the forbidden] books[, presumably for targeting by official or unofficial violence]…he [also]…showed her books he had [stolen from the library to unofficially censor them]…the Rutherford County Library Board [has endured] repeated battles over [demands for censorship by anti-intellectual authoritarians who have no place on a library board]…A motion to remove York followed James’s [report of his] misconduct…[but] the [censor-dominated] board declined to do so…the…developments mark…a new and dangerous phase in…[the] Rutherford County [culture war that] now threatens to become a national test case for how far government power can [undermine] public libraries…Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett…re[cently demanded a purge of thousands of books from]…Tennessee…libraries…in [a show of obeisance to the mad emperor]…

The Cop Myth (#1566)

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

A…[former] Chicago [cop is suing her former cop shop because they intentionally and repeatedly] ignored complaints that [her ex-boyfriend cop] had “repeatedly physically, mentally, and sexually abused” [her].  The [victim is] identif[ied]…as Jane Doe…[and psychotic cop] Marco Torres viciously abused her and threatened her life…[while] high-ranking officials, including then-chief of the Bureau of Internal Affairs…Yolanda Talley, not only failed to protect Doe, but also retaliated against her for reporting the abuse…Torres relentlessly tried to find Doe’s new home address despite an order of protection against him…he [told another cop]…that he needed her address because he has a “guy from gangs” who “can get rid of her” for “a grand”…[the boss hog]s were aware of the…message, which the recipient sent to in[ternal affairs], but they never warned Doe…or [did anything else]…Doe [later] found a GPS tracking device on her car which…Torres used to stalk her…he was [finally] convicted of assault in December 2024 over his previous threats to kill Doe…[but] she had [been] report[ing] Torres’ abuse…[since] November 2022…and…at least two other [cops had] rep[ea]tedly submitted written reports…describ[ing] violence and stalking against a different female [cop] years earlier…

When Ambulance-Chasers Run the Hospitals (#1578)

States now routinely use nuisance lawsuits as a way to circumvent the Constitution:

Indiana[‘s Trumpist] Attorney General Todd Rokita…[has] announced…that his office sued Aylo…for [suppos]edly violating the state’s age verification laws due to [not attempting] to block users using…VPNs…all IP addresses in Indiana are still blocked, as the company chose to withdraw from the state’s digital space to comply with [Indiana law]…But…Rokita is proposing…that…Aylo…is…to…blam[e for]…the existence of VPNs…Corey Silverstein, an attorney who represents adult industry clients…[said] this [is]…”a dangerous concept…because what’s next? Power companies? Landlords that lease data center space?”…[David Greene of the EFF said,] “What the state’s lawsuit seems to be doing is saying that Aylo deceived Indiana consumers when it said it was geoblocking Indiana users…[because] it knew that…VPNs [exist]…It essentially bases liability on the failure to accomplish impossibilities”…

The Vultures Descend (#1580)

Prohibition can never succeed, regardless of which substance is prohibited:

[Due to] abortion…[being] criminalized…an increasing number of women [worldwide] are accessing abortion pills outside of the formal medical system…Women Help Women [is] a global telehealth…service that supports self-managed abortion by providing abortion pills and information about how to use them…After a decade of relying on pharmaceutical companies to supply them…Women Help Women…recently announced they have begun working directly with drugmakers in India to produce their own innovative combipack of mifepristone and misoprostol for distribution around the world…the…pack…includes one mifepristone tablet and eight misoprostol tablets…[because] some women want extra misoprostol to ensure a complete abortion…Its smaller packaging also requires less postage [so it] is easier to mail discreetly…

The Last Shall Be First (#1587)

“Protecting children” is an all-purpose excuse:

…the Trump [regime has] announced…a…[de facto] ban…[on] gender-affirming care for transgender young people, even in states where it is still legal…[against the advice of] the American Academy of Pediatrics…[one] new…rule…prohibits doctors and hospitals from receiving federal Medicaid reimbursement for gender-affirming care provided to transgender patients younger than…18…The second…blocks all Medicaid and Medicare funding for any services at hospitals that provide pediatric gender-affirming care.  Virtually every hospital in the country takes Medicare…The American Civil Liberties Union has announced plans to sue to stop the rules; other legal action is also expected…[Secretary of Pestilence Robert] Kennedy…insisted that [all doctors]…are wrong [and presented a trained parrot which absurdly squawked about]…God…[then Trump stooge] Dr. Marty Makary, who [mismanage]s the Food and Drug Administration, announced that the FDA would be sending warning letters to businesses that manufacture chest binders…

 

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

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Links #807

Posted in Current Events, Links, Miscellaneous, Music, Obituary, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on December 22, 2025| Leave a Comment »

How much are the kids being experimented on?  –  R.J. Cross

It seems only fitting to bid goodbye to Rob Reiner with a Christmas song from his most famous creation.  The links above the video were provided by Jesse Walker (x2); Ryan Marino; Angela Keaton and Franklin Harris;  The Onion; and IncarcerNation, 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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Tweet Wave

Posted in History, Miscellaneous, Tyranny, Words, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on December 19, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Who first used the German word "blitz" ("lightning") to describe sudden, intense bursts of violence? I forget.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-14T19:43:33.619Z

I just can't get beyond the resemblance.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-16T19:29:02.571Z

When cops use profanity at us, think of what they're telling us. Would you ever curse at your boss? No, but he can curse at you because he has power over you. What would happen if you cursed out a cop? But they curse at us routinely. That tells you how they perceive their relationship with us.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-17T08:31:30.244Z

The universe does things on a subatomic level that would get you arrested for bank fraud if you tried the financial equivalent.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-19T04:59:00.841Z

People suffering from advanced dementia often fall back on old "scripts". It's why your senile great-grandmother calls you by your mother's (or even grandmother's) name, and it's why Trump seems to think he's still on a TV show he did two decades ago.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-19T18:14:28.117Z

Magnificent. Words that deserve to be included in future editions of Bartlett's.If you're not following Ken, why are you even on here?

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-20T18:37:49.142Z

Reporters need to ditch the word "taken" when writing about actions of government thugs.The property wasn't "taken" by goons; it was STOLEN.The person wasn't "taken to the ground"; he was TACKLED.The person wasn't "taken into custody" as if on a date; he was ABDUCTED.Stop soft-peddling evil.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-21T18:12:37.117Z

Reading what people say about Twitter makes me realize that the vast majority online expend absolutely no effort on account hygiene. If they treated their bodies like they treat their social media accounts, they'd never bathe, brush their teeth, or change their clothes, and would eat only junk.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-23T18:27:53.081Z

I will never cease to be amused by the notoriety Fate chose to bestow upon a minor Sumerian merchant of the 18th century BCE.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-24T18:42:59.559Z

Crypto-moralists believe anything unpleasant must be “good for you”.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-25T08:41:09.810Z

In the late 19th century, the Ottoman Empire was called "the sick man of Europe". Now the American empire has become the sick man of the entire planet.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-26T19:46:57.721Z

I found my own solution to Thanksgiving guest tensions many years ago: I host. Nobody dares start shit in MY house.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-27T17:53:29.116Z

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-29T03:35:45.932Z

I have lived my life in such a way that I can't picture either of these women accurately enough to compare them in my mind. And I'm very pleased about that.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-29T18:42:27.556Z

I block every single MAGA account and every associated lunatic on Twitter the first time I see it. As a result, I now see far more Trumpery on Bluesky than on Twitter, because people keep screenshotting and calling attention to accounts I blocked long ago.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-03T18:04:51.442Z

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-04T09:14:45.895Z

What's the Greek word for rule by mathematical imbeciles?

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-05T18:10:12.603Z

I'm so exhausted by journalists, who should know the meaning of the words they use, referring to people who are not cautious of change but rather mindlessly destroy every Chesterton's fence they can find, as "conservative".

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-05T20:21:41.880Z

"We are not the party of participation trophies…"I hate to break this to you, but…

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-07T03:39:24.651Z

Maybe this misuse of the word "democracy" is a problem of Millennials and Zoomers, who are too young to remember that about half the communist dictatorships of the late 20th century had the word "Democratic" in their names, eg "Deutsche Demokratische Republik" (German Democratic Republic).

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-07T18:47:29.470Z

Mad emperor babbles like a baby: "A pwus pwus pwus pwus pwus!!" {claps tiny pudgy hands and gurgles}

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-09T20:02:40.319Z

Ahem.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-10T09:23:43.373Z

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-12T19:50:01.065Z

OK, y'all, we all get it: politicians and partisans are all huge hypocrites who theatrically perform anger when the "other team" does the same thing they do when in power.Find another goddamned tweet boilerplate. Holy shit.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-13T18:34:07.084Z

The problem is that the tech industry is intentionally conflating two different things under the fantasy label "AI". Machine learning is a real, useful tool; chatbots are a toy and a technological blind alley. Conflating the two is like pretending color TV is the same technology as a hula-hoop.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-14T18:46:37.811Z

I'm sick of the idiocy of the term "kinetic strike".As opposed to what, a static strike?

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-16T17:48:03.150Z

My home town, ladies & gents.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-18T08:51:51.030Z

 

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