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Posts Tagged ‘South Carolina’

No-one in a democracy should need to show their passport just to get online.  –  Silkie Carlo

Policing for Profit

There are many ways for cops to enrich themselves at others’ expense:

A [New Jersey cop named Darryl Brown] stole more than $10,000 in camera equipment from a photographer who had to abandon her bag after she was injured during [a pogrom] outside a…[concentration camp] in Newark [named] Delaney Hall…which has been the focus of ongoing protests since Memorial Day weekend…after [political prisoner]s inside announced a hunger and labor strike…Angelina Katsanis was [hit so hard] by a [cop she] could barely walk…as state troopers [attack]ed…the…protesters [with pepper spray and blunt weapons] late [on the] night [of May 30th]…She…tucked her bag aside so she could seek medical help…[it] was clearly labeled with her name, and her keys were airtagged.  After a friend unsuccessfully tried to retrieve the bag later that night, they were able to monitor the airtag [be]ing [carried by] Darryl Brown [to his house, where operatives of the attorney general’s office of public integrity]…found some of [it on June 3rd after gaining entry via a search warrant]…

Banishment (#1163)

One more baby step toward ridding our society of this evil:

South Carolina is one of 20 states that authorize indefinite [warehousing] of [people] after they have completed their prison sentences…[if] a jury [declares them]…a “sexually violent predator”…Although the South Carolina Office of Mental Health…concluded that Andy Hyman was not an SVP, a jury d[eclared otherwise because a prosecutor tricked them with an “expert”]…opinion based largely on penile plethysmography (PPG), a scientifically dubious technique that [cl]aims to measure sexual response to images, audio narratives, or textual descriptions by gauging tiny changes in the circumference of the subject’s penis.  That test, the South Carolina Supreme Court [has now] unanimously ruled…in response to Hyman’s appeal, is “generally inadmissible in judicial proceedings”…join[ing] a long list of state and federal courts that have deemed PPG results unreliable and inadmissible…

The Last Shall Be First (#1523)

Burble burble BLUE STATE burble drool:

Student athletes in Washington state schools who want to compete in girls’ sports would likely have to obtain genital exams to participate, if a[n authoritarian] ballot initiative passes in November…students would have several options to confirm their sex: a visual genital exam, a lab test to determine their genetic makeup, or an analysis of testosterone levels in the blood…[high-profile bigot] Brian Heywood and his political action committee Let’s Go Washington are backing the measure…[which they defend by barfing the word “]safety[“] in girls’ [faces]…the measure would be a major shift in the way the state has…handled school sports participation for transgender kids…since 2007…[there are only about] 10 trans athletes out of more than 200,000 kids [in academic sports] across the state…

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

Panopticon (#1611)

Cops will invariably use warrantless surveillance to frame people:

…[Ariel Beltran and] Hugo Parra [were falsely] arrested last year on felony [assault] charges…[because] San Diego police…de[cided]…the Alfa Romeo car [they were] riding in…[could teleport] five miles away from…the crime [instantly]…a…[Flock] license plate reader…captured…an…[image of] a different Alfa Romeo [whose license plate cops could not read, so they simply]…arrested Beltran and Parra [for riding in a similar car in a different part of town, also captured by the reader 23 seconds later]…Parra spent nearly one month behind bars…before the…charges were dropped…Now Parra and Beltran are preparing to sue the city for civil rights violations and negligence…several other Flock cameras…[and] the location data on their cell phones [showed they were nowhere near the crime scene, but the cops]…ignored [inconvenient] evidence [to frame the men, who now]…seek $1.5 million apiece in damages…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1630)

Zuckerberg sneakily added this dystopian software, hoping civil liberties groups wouldn’t notice:

[Facebook] has quietly embedded face-recognition technology for its [perve]rt glasses into an app downloaded to millions of phones…over multiple updates this year…while publicly…[lying that it w]as something the company was still “thinking through”…Though not yet enabled, NameTag sits inside a…companion app that’s…necessary for use of key features of its [perve]rt glasses…[when] activated, it will transform faces captured by [the pervert] glasses into unique biometric signatures…and check each one against faceprints stored on the user’s phone—a database that…[could easily be re]configured to…revive…technology [Facebook lied about retiring] in 2021, when the company…paid $650 million to settle a class-action lawsuit brought by Illinois users and, in 2024, agreed to a separate $1.4 billion settlement with Texas over…[illega]lly collect[ing] biometric data…

Torture Chamber (#1638)

Nuremberg-style trials are the moderate solution to these atrocities:

[Victims of] Florida’s notorious [Dade-Collier concentration camp reported that screws are]…denying them food and fresh water…[in an attempt to coerce them into] sign[ing] documents presented to them in English that they [can]not understand…the water given to them…[is] “rotten” and contain[s] mosquito larvae…They…[are also denying] medicine to…diabetic[s], [people] with high blood pressure…and others [who need daily medication.  The concentration camp is so expensive to]…operate…[it is scheduled to] wind down operations in [the next few weeks in preparation for] its eventual closure…[after only] one year of operation, the t[orture] facility…has developed a reputation for the brutal treatment of [human beings crammed into]…metal cages, and…su[bjected to nigh-constant] human and civil rights abuses…[including] denial of access to immigration lawyers, frequent and sudden movement of [victims] to other [concentra]tion [camp]s, and pressure to consent…to deportation…[the new tortures] appear…to be a ramping up of that pressure…

Walled Garden (#1642)

Fascists will never be satisfied until they control all people see, say, and do:

The UK government [is demanding tech companies install Utah-style software] to block access to…images [badly-flawed algorithms identify as “nude”, a la Facebook,] on smartphones and other devices for [all residents of the UK unless they submit to having those devices permanently linked to their identities in government databases].  Sir Keir Starmer has [issued incoherent threats] to…firms [while barfing “]children[” and “]sexually explicit[” at sensible people]…and…[bloviating about what he] “believe[s]”.  The government [issued a]…three month…[ultimatum and threatened corporations not resident in the UK with] criminal [charges, even demanding that corporations force the censorship & surveillance software into]…existing…phones [without the owners’ consent]…The [new threats are a tacit admission that the much-ballyhooed]…Online Safety Act – [which took over 12 years to enact] – i[s as utter a failure as sensible people predicted eight years ago]…However, [authoritarian lunatics] have [demand]ed the government…[completely control everything young adults] see…online[, moronically belching “]sextortion[” as though it were a sensible term used by reasonable adults].  The [scheme includes a proposed ban]…on…social media [for all Britons who refuse to submit to a surveillance regime]

 

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 don’t think they’re aliens, I think they’re demons.  –  J.D. Vance

I’m not sure why I’ve never posted this song, since it’s been periodically going through my head for years now and I think you’ll agree that though it has never completely stopped being timely, it’s especially timely right now.  The links above it were provided by Franklin Harris, Ed Krayewski, Radley Balko, C.J. Ciaramella, Rick Horowitz, 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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Google wanted to ‘not be evil’ back in the day. Well, they’re evil now.  –  app developer Mark

If Men Were Angels

This one’s an associate youth pastor:

An associate youth pastor [from] Missouri…[named] Donald Aaron Axtell has been charged with…statutory rape [and] possession of child pornography…[for repeated] sexual…assault…[of a] 15[-year-old]…girl…[she reported him and he has already confessed]…

No Escape (ROTW #11)

I guess “they wanted it” is considered less credible when the victim is male?

[A man named] Terrence [who was repeatedly raped in New York’s notorious Rikers Island hellhole] told [screws] again and again…he filed reports…and in two instances, pointed to video [evidence of the attacks]…But each time, jail investigators brushed his claims aside, labeling them “unsubstantiated” or [claiming “he wanted it”]…Now, New York City is paying…[him] $4 million to settle three separate August 2020 lawsuits…

The Vultures Descend (#1511)

Moral imbeciles can always be trusted to abuse any power they’re given:

Sending women who get abortions to prison for decades.  Outlawing IUDs.  Sharply restricting in-vitro fertilization.  These are the [most draconian invasions of body autonomy]…being [threaten]ed by [psychopathic] South Carolina [politicians], even as opponents of [body autonomy debate]…how far [they can] go [without being lynched]…The proposal would ban all abortions unless [a doctor can convince politicians] the woman’s life is at risk [before she actually dies] and eliminates exceptions for rape and incest victims…Women who get an abortion and anyone who helps them could face up to 30 years in prison…Providing information about abortions would [count as help, so]…doctors…couldn’t [legally] suggest legal abortion elsewhere …The proposal has [created a] split [between] groups that oppose abortion [because they are sociopaths] and [those who oppose it because they are psychopaths]…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1553)

Remember when Google’s motto was “Don’t be evil”?

Google is hosting a…CBP…app that uses facial recognition to identify immigrants…[for persecuti]on, while simultaneously removing apps designed to warn local communities about [lurking] ICE [goons]…The CBP app, called Mobile Identify…is for local and state [cop shops in fascist collaboration with]…ICE [in a] program that…“essentially turns [pigs] into ICE [goons]“…Google removed an app called Red Dot…[absurdly] describ[ing ICE goons] as a vulnerable group…while continuing to host a CBP app that uses facial recognition to [target an actual vulnerable group for armed violence]…

Given that the app described in the next item below is called “Mobile Companion”, the two seem related.

Panopticon (#1563)

Fascism enables surveillance at levels beyond the Stasi’s wildest dreams:

ICE…[now has] an app that lets [violent, unhinged goons] instantly scan a license plate, adding it to a database…that…[not only allows tracking] around the country, [but also cross-references] driver license data, credit header data, marriage records, vehicle ownership, and voter registrations…The capability is powered by [the fascist surveillance divisions of] both Motorola…and Thomson Reuters…which…sells masses of personal data [harvested from its news service]…the capabilities allow [pre-crime] predicting…and…facial recognition…Motorola…acquired [its surveillance capabilities through purchase of] Vigilant…and…DRN

Shame, Shame (#1585)

Is there no end to this ghoulishness?

A new [machine learning] app that allows users to create interactive [cartoon]s of their deceased relatives…[may be a bridge too far for the masses], with many [social media] users calling the technology dystopian…an ad for the app…[depicts] an expectant mother communicat[ing] with a…[chatbot synchronized to a cartoon image] resembling her deceased mother…[then further] interactions the [ghoulish cartoon] has with the family as the son is born, grows up and eventually has children of his own…the ad garnered just 6,000 likes, but plenty of critical responses…One user said the app is “objectively one of the most evil ideas imaginable,” [while]…another [called it] “demonic, dishonest, and dehumanizing”…other[s correctly pointed out that] the app…profits off of grief and [is] an unhealthy way for people to deal with loss…

Do As I Say, Not As I Do (#1590)

One of the few things neither cops nor goons can routinely get away with:

Bloomington, Minnesota[ cops are hiding the identity]…of…an…ICE [goon who talked to a sow fantasy role-playing as a 17-year-old sex worker]…”When he was arrested, he said, ‘I’m ICE, boys,'” [oinked boss hog Booker] Hodges…[who also oinked pro-censorship drivel, which he apparently believes would somehow stop cop shops from conducting entrapment scams]…

 

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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Invasive, secret hacking power is corrupting.  –  John Scott-Railton

Above the Law (#1262)

Just another kind of screw, acting like any other screw:

A [South Carolina] parole [screw] is facing a litany of charges [for repeatedly molesting and harassing]…parolees over the last year.  David Johnathon Shytle…[repeatedly] sen[t dick pics] and [sexual] texts to [his victims, groped them]…and [even] licked [them]…Shytle…was booked…[but then] released [within hours, so he is still at large]…

I Spy (#1515)

All those who facilitate State evil are enemies of humanity:

[ICE goons] will have access to one of the world’s most sophisticated hacking tools after a decision by the Trump [regime] to…contract with Paragon Solutions…[an] Israel[i]…spyware [company] that…[makes mal]ware…called Graphite…[which] can hack into any phone….[to] track an individual’s whereabouts, read their messages, [and] look at their photographs…[even] on encrypted applications…like…Signal…[it] can [even] be used as a[n eavesdropp]ing device, through the manipulation of the phone’s recorder…Paragon has sought to differentiate itself from [other morally-bankrupt fascist corporations by claiming]…it only does business with [regimes which pinky-swear their intended victims consented to be spied on via a “social contract”]…It has also [lied by claiming] it…will cut off government clients who use the spyware to target…journalists [despite Italy being caught doing exactly that with its spyware].  Paragon also [hopes to confuse useful idiots by barfing words like “]crime[“] and [“]terrorist attacks[“]…in the[ir faces]…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1518)

Bounty hunters are toxic filth made even more dangerous by the fascist apparatus:

Three bounty hunters face kidnapping charges after [carelessly] mistaking a man for a suspect with a similar name and [abduct]ing him…[from his Texas] home…Alan Hinton and Devon Allard Carter…[worked with] a third [man whose identity is being hidden by]…police…Their crime was committ]ed on June 1…[after] they used…facial recognition [software which claimed a mere]…79% recognition match to the man they were [incompetently] looking for…the[y]…drove up…in a U-Haul van, threw a flash bang [sic] in the garage and a[ttack]ed…the [victim, pointing guns in his face]…The actual suspect, it turned out, had fled to Iraq…Police ran the man’s name and found that he didn’t have any active warrants for his arrest and did not look [anything] like the [legally-innocent person] the bounty hunters were searching for…

Mad Libs (#1555)

These algorithms are not only unintelligent; they are making those who use them look stupid as well:

…a new category of work [has been] spawned by the [CGI fad] that threatened to displace creative jobs [with computerized garbage]: Anyone can now write [shitty] blog posts, produce a [sloppy] graphic or code a…[buggy] app with a few text prompts, but [such instant] content rarely makes for a satisfactory final product on its own…many gig workers…are saying they’ve found new work as a result of [algorithmic] incompetencies: Writers are asked to spruce up ChatGPT’s writing. Artists are being hired to patch up wonky [CG] images.  Even software developers are tasked with fixing buggy apps coded by [computers]…A recent MIT report found that…95% of businesses’ generative [ML] pilots are getting zero return on investment…the report states [that, as predicted by sensible people]…“[ML] systems do not retain feedback, adapt to context, or improve over time”…

The Cop Myth (#1565)

It’s too bad they don’t inflict all of their violence on each other:

A [typical and representative South Carolina cop] was found guilty of [the] murder…of a[nother cop] in 2021.  Evan Hawthorne…was convicted…[of] the [murder] of Larry Vaughan…[on] July [23,] 2021…[and] sentenced to life in prison…Hawthorne was arrested [within] hours…He [had been] fired [from the cop shop] in 2019 [for driving his pigmobile drunk]…

Aladdin’s Satellite (#1566)

This is exactly why chatbot “therapy” needs to be banned immediately:

…The large language model (LLM) boom of the past few years has had unexpected ramifications for the field of psychotherapy, mostly due to the growing number of [fools] substituting the likes of ChatGPT for human therapists.  But less discussed is how some therapists themselves are [unethically farming their thinking out to chatbots, which]…risks compromising sensitive patient data and undermining a relationship in which trust is paramount…[patients who discover their caring professionals are in actuality intellectually-lazy frauds report feeling] disappointment…mistrust…and…betrayal…chatbots…are not approved by the US Food and Drug Administration and are not HIPAA compliant…they…can [also] fuel delusions and psychopathy by blindly validating a user rather than challenging them…

Walled Garden (#1570)

More unintended but wholly predictable consequences of bad laws:

Another website is blocking access to Mississippi residents in response to the state’s age verification…law…Bluesky [has been followed by]…Dreamwidth Studios—a blogging platform…for artists…[It] is…blocking access [to anyone without a VPN] in Mississippi, a[nd]…preventing minors in Tennessee from opening new accounts…the U.K.’s Online Safety Act…has resulted in a ridiculous array of roadblocks for those who want to access anything from news about the war in Gaza to…eating disorder support groups…In France…an age verification provider…[named] AgeGO…isn’t using…”double anonymity”…[which] means that…[people’s personal] details…[are linked not only with] the website being visited, [but also with] the exact video the person is trying to access…

 

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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Every so often, I’ll pass on a press release I think might be of interest to my readers.  I get press releases nearly every day, but most are just advertising crap from publicity agents; only once in a while is one of them something I think worth promoting.  I got this one a week ago today; it’s for a competition for Southern artists.  If you know an eligible artist, please pass this on.

The Gibbes Museum of Art has announced an extension of the deadline for the 1858 Prize for Contemporary Southern Art.

  • $10,000 prize for the winning artist.
  • An artwork by the winning artist will be exhibited in the museum for one full year.
  • The new deadline for submissions is Sept. 7, 2025.

The 1858 Prize is recognized as one of the leading artist competitions in the Southeastern United States, and awards $10,000 each year to an artist whose work contributes to a new understanding of art in the South.  Artists must reside or work in one of these states. Or – they can live elsewhere but be originally from one of these Southern states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.

The Prize is presented by Society 1858, the museum’s young professionals auxiliary group. In addition to the monetary award, a work by the winning artist will be exhibited in the museum for a full year.  A jury comprised of arts professionals, representatives of Society 1858, and the previous year’s recipient will select the winner, who will be announced in October of 2025.The museum will also invite the winner to Charleston for the official unveiling of their artwork, part of a three-day celebration in February honoring the artist ‒ including the annual Society 1858 Winter Party, and the Amy P. Coy Forum, where the artist will be invited to speak about their work.

Some of the past winners have gone on to receive major national awards and accolades, including: the Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, the Joan Mitchell Fellowship, the United States Artist Fellowship, and the Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant.  Some of the winning artists’ works have been acquired in the permanent collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The National Gallery of Art, and Art Institute of Chicago, among other institutions.

More details about the submission process at: gibbesmuseum.org/1858-prize (applications are accepted exclusively through the museum’s website).

Rules and eligibility details at this link (the online application is here).

Past winners of the 1858 Prize include:  Demond Melancon (2024), Sherrill Roland (2023), Raheleh Filsoofi (2022), Stephanie J. Woods (2021), Stephen L. Hayes (2020), Donté K. Hayes (2019), Leo Twiggs (2018), Bo Bartlett (2017), Alicia Henry (2016), Deborah Luster (2015), Sonya Clark (2014), John Westmark (2012), Patrick Dougherty (2011), Radcliffe Bailey (2010), Stephen Marc (2009), and Jeff Whetstone (2008).

View previous winning artists and their work here.

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 If these companies want customers to feel safe in their homes, then they should make sure they’re also safe where they buy their supplies.
–  Dave Maass

To Molest and Rape

If only there were a concise term for “having sex with someone mentally incapacitated or physically helpless”:

A [typical and representative South Carolina cop named] Ahmad Tyreek Cheeks…was [arrested for raping]…a…mentally [handicapped woman].  He [is still at large after] post[ing bail]…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1030)

Clearview was specifically invented as a police-state tool to use against migrants and minorities:

…in March 2017, Hoan Ton-That…[was already] plan[ning] to deploy…Clearview AI…[against] immigrants entering the United States…[despite being] an immigrant…himself…A diehard Donald Trump supporter, Ton-That envisioned using facial recognition to c[riminalize] migrants…His Border Patrol pitch also included a proposal to screen any arrival for “sentiment about the USA”…conflat[ing] support for [Trumpery] with American identity…Clearview…secured funding from…Peter Thiel…and signed up hundreds of [cop shops] around the country…urging cops to “run wild” with searches…[they have done so] with almost no transparency…[despite its warrantless use being unconstitutional and its] data collection practices [being] illegal…In December, Ton-That…quietly stepped down as CEO…[but] retains a board seat…Replacing him as co-CEOs were Richard Schwartz…a former top aide to Rudy Giuliani, and Hal Lambert…who runs a Texas financial firm known for its “MAGA ETF”…the company [has] pursue[d] “opportunities” with the…Trump…[regime, and] one of the company’s top customers is [ICE]

Creepy Coppers

Cop is a cop is a cop is a cop:

[New Zealand boss hog] Jevon McSkimming is facing eight charges of possessing…child…and bestiality [porn]…The c[op], wh[o is typical and] representative, [faces] a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment.  McSkimming resigned as the country’s second most powerful cop in May…and…was arrested on 27 June in Wellington…[but] the Wellington District Court [conspired with cop shops to hide his name until July 18]…

The Vultures Descend (#1273)

Trump claims to love the military, yet his regime keeps trying to harm veterans:

…the Department of Veterans Affairs [is]…seeking to eliminate coverage for the limited abortion services and counseling that have been available to veterans and their beneficiaries under the VA health care system…[since] September 2022, a…policy change [intended to] pro[tect roughly 2 million female]…veterans and their beneficiaries in the [16] states [with] total or near-total bans…the Trump [regime absurdly claims] that…[no states ban] abortions…in life-threatening situations such as ectopic pregnancies or miscarriages…[and declares that] pregnant women [who need such care are] “incorrect”…Nancy Northup, President…[of] the Center for Reproductive Rights, said…“This administration is sending a clear message to veterans—that their health and dignity aren’t worth defending”…

Panopticon (#1549)

In surveillance, fascism beats communism hands down:

Hundreds of…automated license plate reading cameras paid for by Lowe’s and Home Depot and stationed in the hardware stores’ parking lots are being fed into a massive surveillance system that [any cop, spook, or goon] can access [at will, without a warrant]…The records are the latest to shed light on how expansive Flock’s surveillance network has become, and highlights that it includes cameras that are operated by both [cop shops] and [fascist] businesses…ALPR…cameras are stationed along roads or at entrances to parking lots around the United States, and constantly scan the license plates of cars that drive by. Because there are Flock cameras around the country, Flock often has a snapshot of people’s movements which police can search, typically without a warrant…in…respon[se] to a request for comment…a Home Depot spokesperson [belched the word “crime” at] 404 Media…This is particularly notable considering that several high-profile ICE raids have taken place near Home Depot and Lowe’s stores

The Cop Myth (#1552)

Cop deals with problems exactly as he was trained & encouraged to, and everyone is shocked:

…a New Jersey [cop named]…Ricardo Santos [murdered] his…ex-girlfriend, Lauren Semanchik, and a…man she had been dating, Tyler Webb, before [shoot]ing hi[mself]…Semanchik [was] a veterinarian…and Webb…a…firefighter…Semanchik had sought a restraining order…[because] Santos was harassing her[, but the cops refused because Santos’ clown costume was extra-magical]…

Walled Garden

The open internet is becoming a thing of the past:

Last fall…Australia announced that it was banning social media for everyone under the age of 16.  This was already a horrifically stupid idea—the kind of policy that sounds reasonable in a tabloid headline but crumbles under any serious scrutiny…There remains little to no actual evidence that an outright ban will be helpful, and plenty to suggest it will be actively harmful to many.  But now Australia has decided to double down on the stupid, announcing that YouTube will be included in the ban…reveal[ing] just how disconnected from reality this entire policy framework has become…

 

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 is shameful that they are using…this technology…to target…people who are…just going to work.  –  Ruth Beltran

Above the Law

Your “leaders” at work:

A…[British politician named] Patrick Spencer…[sexually] assault[ed]…two women…before he was elected…on 12 August 2023 at the Groucho Club [in London]…the [drunk politician repeatedly harassed]…the f[irst victim until she]…walked away…then…[sneaked up on her from behind] and [groped her]…the second…[woman was caught completely by surprise w]hen [this weirdo suddenly came up]…behind her and [started groping her tits]…the[y both]…complain[ed]…to the…club, [who in turn] reported [the lecherous politician] to the police[, who didn’t bother to do anything about it until]…earlier this year…

Creepy Coppers

Seems like a significant fraction of child porn is spread by cops:

[A New Jersey cop named] Anthony Kelly…has pled guilty to…distribution of child [porn after]…NCMEC…[reported him to the] prosecutor’s office…[Kelly was] distributi[ng the porn] from a Kik account…between July…and October 2024…He was…charged on November 26…[and agreed to a plea bargain sentence of] seven years in…prison…[with] parole…[and condemnation to the “sex offender” registry] for life…

A Broker in Pillage (#1463)

South Carolina is one of the most flagrant abusers of this unconstitutional practice:

For the first time in nearly 20 years, [people] can travel without fear of [“]Operation Rolling Thunder[”], an annual [scheme to rob motorists] along Interstate 85.  [Typical and representative] Sheriff Chuck Wright initiated the multiday cr[iminal conspiracies] in 2006 and expanded them over the years to involve 11 [cop shops].  But…Wright resigned on May 23…[due to] a federal criminal investigation, and interim Sheriff Jeffery Stephens announced during his first news conference that the [racket] will not continue…Operation Rolling Thunder was an unconstitutional search-and-seizure machine that subjected thousands of innocent people to pretextual, warrantless searches…[in which predatory cops] routinely pulled over vehicles on the flimsiest of excuses and then [rooted through the cars]…and [luggage without warrants or probable cause in order to steal whatever they found.  In one especially-egregious case, cops waylaid]…a charter bus from Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina, and treated every student on board like a criminal…the Institute for Justice…sued for access to…records from 2022, the year of the Shaw incident…[and] found that over 72 percent of vehicle searches produced nothing illegal.  [The cops] cashed in anyway…and…nobody knows exactly where the money goes…due to weak accounting and reporting laws…

Unsafe for Human Consumption (#1515)

Cops won’t drop this fantasy until “news” media stop obediently parroting it:

A [hysterical Ohio cop named Brayden Moon] was revived with [the placebo effect] after [having a panic attack] from s[eeing what he assumed was] fentanyl [while trying to destroy citizens’ lives with drug charges] during a [pretextual] traffic stop…[excused by getting permission] from a [dog, which naturally suffered no symptoms because]…fentanyl [has no effect]…due to [casual contact, regardless of moronic copaganda about “]exposure[“.  Whiny-baby] Moon collapsed…after [hearing too many porcine tall-tales about magical]…overdose…[a small herd of pigs wast]ed several doses of Narcan, successfully [convincing the little pansy that he had been “rescued”, like mommy kissing a boo-boo to make it all better].  Moon[‘s victims will not escape harm so easily, and the Boss Hog strutted around oinking nonsense about]…“experience and training”…

I Spy (#1535)

Are there really people so naive they actually believe speed traps are about “safety”?

…Washington State P[igs have] a new tool to help [them cash in on] speeding drivers, and your cellphone may have [been conscripted to] help…[them without your consent].  Cellphone data from more than 1 million cellphone users in Washington in 2023 helped the state identify where to look for…drivers [they can profit from via speeding tickets]…the co[p shop] used [your tax money] to purchase telematic data gathered by Michelin…to show when and where [the speed limits were too low for the conditions, so] drivers were [routinely exceeding those arbitrary limits]…Over the next six weeks…Washington State Patrol will be looking [to cash in by lurking] in four locations where [the] speed…[limit is arbitrarily low]: Interstate 5 from Joint Base Lewis-McChord to Fife, from Fife to Auburn on I-5, north and south of Everett on I-5, and a 14-mile stretch of Interstate 90 east and west of downtown Spokane…

Panopticon (#1543)

Don’t think this will only be used to persecute the “other”; we’re well past that:

Florida [pigs rooted] in…a vast…surveillance network…of…license plates scanned by cameras controlled by the [fascist] surveillance company Flock Safety — to aid in immigration [pogrom]s…between March 13 and May 5, [Florida pigs rooted in the database] more than 250 [times, especially]…in the week before and during Operation Tidal Wave, a high-profile [pogrom labeled with one of the sophomoric and self-aggrandizing “operation” titles cops in general and Florida cops in particular love so much]…More than 100 [cop shops and pig herds] in Florida use Flock, [whose system was built despite years of warnings] …from civil rights advocates…[cop shops] across the country conducted these types of searches “either at the behest of the federal government or as an ‘informal’ favor to federal [spooks and goons]”…

The Puritan Recrudescence (#1547)

France’s lust to spy on citizens and censor the internet hits an obstacle:

On 16 June, the Administrative Court of Paris suspended the French government’s age verification requirement on EU-based porn companies…[because it is il]legal under EU law…French [censors have]…launch[ed] an appeal…The crux of the issue…is th[at France tried] to bypass the EU’s country-of-origin principle…[which] means a country cannot regulate a company that’s based in another EU state unless a formal objection process…is followed…Xhamster…[and] Aylo…[are] based in Cyprus…This is not the first time France’s [control-freakishness has] clashed with EU law…

 

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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What does a human slowly going insane look like to a corporation?  It looks like an additional monthly user.  –  Eliezer Yudkowsky

You Were Warned (#1345)

Politicians will never stop until the open internet is destroyed:

[Politicians have] re-introduced [a bill which intentionally] threatens security and free speech on the internet…the STOP CSAM Act of 2025…would undermine services offering end-to-end encryption and force internet companies to take down lawful user content…[using the perennial excuse of stopping] child pornography…[which] is already highly illegal…The bill applies to “interactive computer services,” which broadly includes private messaging and email apps, social media platforms, cloud storage providers, and many other…service providers…[and] opens the door for civil lawsuits against providers for…employ[ing] end-to-end encryption…on…the [spurious grounds that]…merely providing an encrypted service that can be used to store any image—not necessarily CSAM—recklessly facilitates the sharing of illegal content…Not every platform will have the resources to fight these threats in court, especially…[since] the bill…creat[es another] exception to Section 230…Without that protection, platforms are much more likely to aggressively monitor and censor users…

Buried Truth (ROTW #3)

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

…South Carolina [politician] RJ May [was honored by the pro-censorship cult “Moms for Liberty”] as their 2023 Legislator of the Year and had him speak at their 2022 event on “[Subvert]ing Education in America”…[so predictably, he has now been] arrested…[fo]r nearly a dozen federal charges [of] distributing child [porn]…May…used the screen name “joebidennnn69” to exchange 220 different files of toddlers and young children involved in sex acts on the Kik social media network during spring 2024…Prosecutors…say that May “has a sexual interest in children the same age as his own children” and…“a sexual interest in incest” between young children and their parents…[but] also…found videos on his laptop of him having sex with three underage…sex work[ers]…May…was the co-chair of the state’s [Orwellian-named pro-censorship “]Freedom Caucus[“] until they kicked him out over the kiddie porn charges…

Mad Libs

Unbalanced minds use external tools like Ouija boards or programs to amplify existing beliefs:

In recent months…[many] people…claim to have unlocked hidden knowledge with the help of [Cat, I farted]…persuad[ing themselves that the program] had revealed a profound and world-altering truth…Eliezer Yudkowsky, a decision theorist…[explains that] OpenAI might have primed [the program] to entertain the delusions of users by optimizing its chatbot for “engagement”…[these] chatbots are “giant masses of inscrutable numbers”…and the companies making them don’t know exactly why they behave the way that they do…Reports of chatbots going off the rails seem to have increased since April, when OpenAI briefly released a version of [Cat, I farted] that was overly sycophantic…a spokeswoman for OpenAI said…“We’re working to understand and reduce ways ChatGPT might unintentionally reinforce or amplify existing, negative behavior”…[some victims] later…realize that the seemingly authoritative system was a word-association machine that had pulled them into a quicksand of delusional thinking.  [But] not everyone comes to that realization, and in some cases the consequences have been tragic…

Do As I Say, Not As I Do (ROTW #17)

It’s too bad cops don’t spend all of their time fantasy role-playing with each other:

A [Texas cop named]…Gabriel Slusher was [arrested for talk]ing to [another cop fantasy role-playing as] an 8-year-old girl online.  Slusher was charged with a[sking the other cop] to…[send nude pictures of the imaginary] child…he remains in the Montgomery County Jail…suspended without pay…

Welcome to the Future (#1540)

Anyone who trusts Zuckerberg is out of his mind:

[The Facebook chatbot]’s public stream is perhaps the most depressing feed I’ve come across in a long time.  It’s full of people sharing intimate information about themselves — things like thoughts on grief, or child custody, or financial distress.  And it seems like some people aren’t aware that what they’re sharing will end up on a public feed…some…might have clicked the wrong button and didn’t realize what they were doing…conversations with [the chatbot] aren’t public by default…so, maybe some of those people wanted the world to read their…chats [with a machine].  And others, maybe not…If a person uses the voice chat function, you can actually listen to recordings of their conversation if they’re shared…

Whatever you chat about with the computer, just picture Zuckerberg watching.”  And every other denizen of Facebook, too.

Thought Control (#1541)

No parody of puritanism could be as absurd as the current reality in Florida:

In a chilling meeting of the Florida State Board of Education…a school district superintendent was publicly browbeaten and repeatedly threatened with criminal prosecution [because]…he…had not unilaterally and permanently removed a list of 55 books from school libraries…[using the ludicrous excuse of] “parents’ rights” [despite the fact that] no Hillsborough County parent had objected to the books at issue.  Rather, the State Board had summarily declared that the…books were “pornography”, even though none of the books met the legal definition of pornographic material…[and] many…are award-winning literature that have been read by students for years…Board [members were angry]…that…[Superintendent Van] Ayres i[mplied that]…librarians…[knew their jobs better than politicians.  The gang of psychopaths responded by vomiting abuse at Ayres, calling him and the librarians “]illiterate[“]…”child abusers”…and…”garbage”…and [demanded all the] librarians…be “terminated immediately”…[also threatening them with] criminal prosecution…

Though Hillsborough County educational officials oppose tyranny, unfortunately the same cannot be said for its sheriff and cops.

I Spy (#1543)

Civil liberties violations only start with those politicians have chosen to demonize:

[The] Trump…[regime has] provided deportation [thug]s with personal data — including the immigration status — on millions of Medicaid enrollees…[in order] to [facilitate mass deportations]…Medicaid officials unsuccessfully sought to block the data transfer, citing legal and ethical concerns…[but henchmen of Minister of Pestilence] Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ordered the dataset handed over to the Department of Homeland Security…and…were given just 54 minutes on [June 10th] to comply…The dataset includes the information of people living in California, Illinois, Washington state and Washington, D.C., all of which allow non-U.S. citizens to enroll in Medicaid programs that pay for their expenses using only state taxpayer dollars.  CMS transferred the information just as the [regime] was ramping up its [pogrom]s in Southern California…

 

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 now believe they were trying to get me to disappear.  –  Jonah Bevin

Unchristian Nation

Government propaganda inspires the weak-minded to violence:

Amid a surge in vandalism of Humane Borders’ life-saving water barrels in Arizona’s borderlands, volunteers…encountered…an apparent vigilante disguised as a wounded migrant from the Middle East…Kirk Astroth…accompanied by a group of 15 high school students visiting from Colorado, noticed a man crouched in the bushes, dressed in camouflage, with a hoodie covering his head and a black mask on…he…was also wearing “carpet shoes,” which migrants…often use to avoid leaving footprints.  The man waved at the group and [pretend]ed he…[spoke] “Kazak,” the language of Kazakhstan…The volunteers offered him food and water, which he drank as if he were extremely thirsty, and he…seemed to want the group to transport him, which…could have been an attempt to [frame] volunteers [for a] crime.  As the group attempted to leave, the man blocked the mini-school bus transporting the students, and began filming on his phone.  He then returned to the water barrel and opened the spigot to drain it.  Astroth, in a separate vehicle, told the school bus to return to Tucson, and returned to…snap…photos of …a…[nearby] camper van, and its Massachusetts license plate, when the man, no longer in disguise, emerged from the bushes…and ran at Astroth, who…quickly drove away…[and] reported the incident to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department…The dispatcher searched the plates and told Astroth the vehicle owner had a criminal record…

Opting Out (#1306) 

Laws like this always favor big corporations which can afford full-time “compliance” departments:

Dozens of small internet forums have blocked British users or shut down [completely] as new online [censorship] laws come into effect…They range from a hamster owners’ forum [to] a local group for residents of the Oxfordshire town of Charlbury, and a large cycling forum.  The hosts of the lemmy.zip forum, hosted in Finland, blocked users from the UK…saying the measures “pave the way for a UK-controlled version of the ‘great firewall’”…Under the [so-called “]illegal harms duties[” invented by politicians], sites must complete [complex and confusing] risk assessments detailing how they deal with illegal material and…[if they get it wrong,] Ofcom [can] fine [them a staggering] £18 [million] or 10[%] of their…[gross income, but despite this immense liability politicians want website operators to trust bureaucrats’ “]pledge…to prioritise larger sites[“]…

Don’t Call It Trafficking (#1463)

The “troubled teen” industry and its political enablers need to be sued out of existence:

A judge has entered an emergency protective order against former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin sought by his adopted son, Jonah Bevin, now 18…The order does not include Glenna Bevin, Jonah’s adoptive mother…[even though] Matt and Glenna Bevin…abandoned him in a brutally abusive facility in Jamaica last year and sought to [deport] him to Ethiopia…after he went public [about their abuse]…Jonah…endured several months of severe beatings, death threats, waterboarding and being buried in sand before Jamaican child welfare authorities shut down the Atlantis Leadership Academy in early 2024…[because] the Bevins declined to act on his behalf or return him to the United States…he…ended up in the custody of the Jamaican child welfare system.  It is a [100% predictable] turn of events [for a politician] who campaigned on improving the state’s adoption and foster care system and…adopt[ed] four children from Ethiopia, including Jonah, to…[use as props at] public events along with the couple’s five biological children…

The Cop Myth (#1490)

Why are people shocked when men paid and encouraged to behave violently, behave violently?

Michael McLeod…a [cop] at the University of Mississippi Medical Center[in Jackson], and [his brother] Marquavius McLeod [have been arrested for murder and aggravated assault after]…shooting [eight people at a St. Patrick’s Day parade] on [March 22nd.  Cops thought it was very important to say he wasn’t wearing his magical clown costume when he murdered]…Cortez George…[and wounded] s[even other] victims…

Censorship Ascendant (#1494)

Many useful idiots want this in the US as well:

[UK] police are making more than 30 arrests a day…for sending messages that cause “annoyance”, “inconvenience” or “anxiety” to others via the internet, telephone or mail…[thugs] from 37 [cop shops] made 12,183 arrests in 2023, the equivalent of about 33 per day.  This marks an almost 58 per cent rise…since before the pandemic…Jake Hurfurt…of…Big Brother Watch…said…“Police look to be wasting countless hours on arresting people for posting things online that…are not illegal”…

See No Evil (#1505)

The amount of time, energy, and money flushed down the “culture war” toilet is incalculable:

A new bill introduced in the Texas legislature could fine museums $500,000 per day if they display…art [politicians later decide to tar with the epithet]…”obscene material”…which [can include]…any [work, regardless of] artistic…value[, which includ]es the nudity of individuals under 18…The [political theatrics] over “obscene art” began with [cops barging] into the “Diaries of Home” exhibition at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth…[at a Trumpist judge’s instigation] and steal]ing [four] works by acclaimed artist Sally Mann…from the 1980s and 1990s…[which] centered on her three pre-adolescent children…A jury later [sensibly] declined to take action against the museum [so of course sick-minded politicians are outraged]…

Property of the State (#1506) 

How long will Americans accept cops and prosecutors terrorizing traumatized women?

In late March, police in southern Georgia arrested a 24-year-old woman who had a miscarriage after a [complete stranger saw] her place the fetal remains in a dumpster [and called the cops].  The coroner…determined it was a 19-week fetus from a natural…miscarriage, but…legal experts consider the arrest a bellwether for the criminal suspicion that surrounds pregnancy loss in many states in post-Roe America…In the first year after the Dobbs decision — from June 2022 to June 2023 — there were at least 210 pregnancy-related prosecutions…in [states including] Alabama, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Ohio, Oklahoma, [and] South Carolina

 

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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An inherent risk with any type of app that allows users to track or spy on [people] is that…data…can be leaked.  –  Jason Koebler & Emanuel Maiberg

Above the Law

Your “leaders” at work:

[Typical and representative New York politician] Dan Halloran — who spent years in federal prison for a $200,000 bribery scheme to rig a mayoral election — has been arrested and charged for having hundreds of sickening child sex abuse videos on his phone…Halloran[‘s phone was searched]…at Miami International Airport…as he arrived…from Cuba…[and] was found with 1,362 child sex videos hidden on his iPhone — including about 35 videos of…prepubescent…girls…

I Spy (#1272)

Any loophole in any right will inevitably be expanded by authoritarians:

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act — or HIPAA — established in 1996 to protect the privacy and security of patient health information, includes [an] exception…[for pigs rooting in people’s private business.  So of course]…after [SCOTUS overturned Roe v Wade] in 2022 [sociopathic cops and prosecutors immediately started trying to pry into women’s private medical]…records…to [ruin their lives] and those [of their doctors and friends].  Health officials [therefore]…enacted a HIPAA rule to keep health information private when the patient was in a state with legal [abortion] access and the care was obtained legally…Two lawsuits [now] seek to rescind that…rule, while another brought by [predatory psychopath] Ken Paxton goes a step further, asking the court to [give pigs carte blanche to dig in women’s private]…health information [without any restrictions whatsoever.  Giving this violent lunatic what he wants]…“could erode patients’ trust…in their providers and dissuade them from wanting to seek out health care”…said Ashley Emery…[of] Partnership for Women and Families. “[Cops] could [even] pressure a psychiatrist to share patient notes from therapy sessions without a…warrant”…Missouri…Tennessee…Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota and West Virginia…all [want cops given such control over]…doctors and pharmacists in [any] state…as [if that weren’t bad enough, Trumpist stooge]…Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk…[is try]ing…to permanently block…HIPAA [entirely]…

Secret Squirrel (#1385)

I can’t feel sorry for people with problems of their own making:

T-Mobile sells a small GPS tracker…called SyncUP, which [parents] can use to track the locations of young children who don’t  have cell phones yet.  [On April 1st, some] parent[s] who use…SyncUP…[were] shown the exact, real-time locations of…random children around the country, but not the locations of [their] own kids…It is clear the tracked people are children because their profile pictures show images of young kids wearing backpacks, and many of the locations shown are schools…T-Mobile [blamed]…”a temporary system issue…that resulted from a planned technology update”…T-Mobile also offers a device called SyncUp DRIVE, which is a dedicated car tracking device.  In a Reddit thread called “SyncUp sharing locations of other users,” several posters said that they were being shown other people’s locations…

I Spy (#1420)

Everything I read about these apps makes me happier I have never even looked at one:

Apple’s iOS apps catering to the sugar dating, BDSM, and LGBTQ+ communities – where privacy is…paramount – have leaked highly sensitive content…BDSM People, CHICA, TRANSLOVE, PINK, and BRISH apps had publicly accessible secrets published together with the apps’ code…[the exposed] information [included] API keys, passwords, [and] encryption keys…credentials placed in client applications are accessible to [cops, spooks, and other malef]actors [who] can easily abuse them to gain access to…profile photos, public posts, profile verification images, photos removed for rule violations, and private photos sent through direct messages…All of the affected apps [we]re developed by M.A.D Mobile Apps Developers Limited.  Their identical architecture explains why the same type of sensitive data was exposed…the apps are exclusive to iOS and do not have Android or web alternatives…

Thought Control (#1422)

Burble burble BLUE STATE burble drool:

New Hampshire [politician] Glenn Cordelli…w[ants to make it easier to]…ban…books…by [taking]…oversight of book complaints…[away from] school administrators [and] local school [boards and handing it]…to the [much more politicized] State Board of Education…Cordelli [absurdly declared] “This is not banning of books,” [before adding that making sausage does not involve the slaughter of animals, and that having] children [does not involve] sex…

No Escape (ROTW #10)

And this is just LA County; every single jurisdiction in the US has similar rates:

Los Angeles County plans to pay $4 billion to settle nearly 7,000 [lawsuits over] sexual abuse…in…its juvenile facilities and foster homes, dwarfing the largest sex abuse settlements in U.S. history…The Boy Scouts of America, by comparison, agreed to pay $2.46 billion.  The Archdiocese of Los Angeles has paid out about $1.5 billion…Victims of USC gynecologist George Tyndall got $1.1 billion.  Michigan State University paid $500 million to victims of team doctor Larry Nassar.  The unprecedented settlement stems from…a 2020 state law that gave victims of childhood [and adolescent] sexual abuse a new window to sue…the thousands of lawsuits, most of which involve [horrifying] abuse from the 1980s through the 2000s, [demonstrate how] government…facilities turn…into hunting grounds for predators…[due to the] immense power [officials are given] over [human beings of all ages locked] in their c[ages]…the $4-billion settlement [doesn’t even] cover…all…of the…lawsuits.  Some attorneys were not willing to participate in the “global mediation process,” and plaintiffs in those cases will be part of a separate settlement…

I Spy (#1490)

Civil liberties violations only start with people the government has demonized:

U.S. immigration officials [want]…to collect social media handles from people applying for…green cards or citizenship, to comply with an [imperial edict] from [mad emperor Trump, thus]…expand[ing] the government’s reach in social media surveillance to people already vetted and in the U.S. legally, such as asylum seekers, green card, and citizenship applicants—and not just those applying to enter the country…social media monitoring by immigration [busybodies] has been a practice…since…the second Obama administration and [was] ramp[ed] up under Trump’s first [reign]…

 

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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