To say that this designation…is without scientific or medical merit is an understatement. – Julianne McShane
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) argued that [steal]ing $50,000 from a small business did not infringe the business’ right to private property because money is not property[, claiming]…(1) the government creates money, so you can’t own it; (2) the government can tax your money, so you don’t own it; and (3) the Constitution allows the government to spend money for the “general welfare”…Chuck Saine, the owner of C.S. Lawn & Landscaping…became a client of the Institute for Justice…when the federal government sought to impose over $50,000 in liability on his business through a “trial” held deep inside the bowls of a federal administrative agency…[where] both the prosecutor and the judge were employed..the DOJ argued that Saine has no right to a real judge and jury because the government was only trying to take his money, not his property…prominently cit[ing] the Legal Tender Cases—where the Supreme Court upheld laws forcing people to accept paper currency, rather than gold and silver, as payment for debts…
This abomination began as a way for cops to target sex workers:
A powerful [computer] tool can predict with high accuracy the location of photos based on features inside the image itself—such as vegetation, architecture, and the distance between buildings—in seconds, with the company now marketing the tool to [cop shops] and [spook houses]. Called GeoSpy, made by a firm called Graylark Technologies out of Boston, the tool has also been used for months by [trolls]…and…stalk[ers]. The company’s founder has aggressively pushed back against such requests…[from anyone without State permission to destroy people’s lives. Cops]…with very little necessary training, private…companies, and stalkers could, and in some cases already are, using this technology. Dedicated open source intelligence (OSINT) professionals can of course do this too, but the training and skillset necessary can take years to build up. GeoSpy allows essentially any…[sociopath] to do it…
Americans aren’t going to like what it will take to stop this coup:
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent gave [Elon Musk and his henchmen] access to the federal payment system [last week]…handing [people neither elected nor hired by the American people]…a powerful tool to monitor and…unilaterally restrict disbursement of money approved for specific purposes by Congress…Musk…has recently fixated on Treasury’s payment processes, c[laim]ing the department [should be falsely] rejecting more [authorized] payments as fraudulent or improper…Similar…teams [of Musk henchmen] have begun demanding access to data and systems at other federal agencies, but none of those agencies control the flow of money in the way the Treasury Department does…the system…includes sensitive personal information about the millions of Americans who receive Social Security checks, tax refunds and other payments from the federal government…
…the Houston Chronicle…reports that in 2023, at least 100 minors had to leave Texas for abortion care; at least six of the minors were children under 12 years old. This number…is ninefold from what it was five years ago. Prior to 2022…between 1,000 and 1,400 Texas minors received abortions in the state annually. That number fell to zero in 2023…many of the minors’ pregnancies resulted from rape [including] every…pregnancy in the youngest age category…[but] Texas’ abortion ban, which threatens providers with life in prison among other steep penalties, offers no exception for rape…
Looks like it’s time for veils to come back into fashion:
Kroger…[has formed a] partnership with Microsoft to install facial-recognition technology in stores, which could be used to identify individual customers: When a shopper approaches the shelf, she would see a price calibrated specifically for her. The next shopper might pay a different amount based on their profile. Retailers could use shopper data to charge higher prices to those who can afford to pay more, but…stores do not have to disclose who is making pricing decisions or why…in October 2024, Kroger [claimed] it had ended its facial recognition pilot program…
Moral imbeciles can always be trusted to abuse any power they’re given:
In January, [psychopath]s in [Indiana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and South Carolina] introduced proposals to make…harming a fertilized egg or fetus punishable under homicide statutes, with no exceptions for women who get abortions…These measures would leave pregnant women who [miscarry or] seek abortions subject to criminal charges such as murder, manslaughter, attempted murder, and attempted manslaughter and open to wrongful death lawsuits brought by [abusive] partners or family members. They could also seriously imperil care for women experiencing pregnancy complications and have major implications for in vitro fertilization practices…
…a New York-based telemedicine provider has been indicted in Louisiana…for supplying the abortion pill to a teenage patient in that state. The [attack on]…Dr. Margaret “Maggie” Campbell signals a major escalation in legal challenges by [forced-birth] states against telemedicine providers…who are dispensing abortion drugs under shield laws meant to protect them from prosecution…The…case involves a pregnant minor whose mother allegedly purchased abortion medications from Campbell…in April 2024…In addition to Campbell, [the state is targeting]…the mother…[trying to lock her in a cage for] five years…and [rob her] to [the tune of] $50,000…
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!
