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Posts Tagged ‘South Dakota’

In a few short years, the entire Western world might finally end the age of the open internet.  –  Kelsey Piper

Torture Chamber (#1445)

For a warden to be charged, there must be much more to this:

State p[igs] and [screwlords] are conducting a “potential criminal misconduct” investigation into…a Western Maryland prison after the latest in a rash of [murder]s of prisoners…on…May 20 [screws found] the body of Colin Wolf…[decomposing] inside his cell in the Roxbury [Dungeon]…Roxbury’s warden and chief of security are out…[and] 19 [screws have been given demerits, while]…eight medical staffers [have been banned] from facilities statewide…officials [are trying] to [figure out how to cover up the] homicides…[but] Wolf was the ninth [victim] this year…and the 33rd…since 2023.  [Politician] Carolyn Scruggs…wrote that…the [screws]…had violated “basic human decency”…to…[a greater] extent [than the ordinary violations of basic human decency inherent in locking human beings up in cages]…Just two weeks before Wolf’s death…Kelvin Hite…was also killed at Roxbury…

To Molest and Rape (#1577)

When will the mainstream media admit that pigs in schools are a menace?

A [typical and representative cop paid to lurk in]…New Jersey [schools in order to spy on, harass, and intimidate students has been arrested for] sexually assaulting an underage girl.  [Louis J.] Baselice…[groomed and enticed the girl by buying her] an electric scooter…a…cell phone…and…food.  [He was reported by her friends]…

Sexcrime (#1590)

Because this worked so well when it was tried next door in the UK:

[Irish politicians] seek…to [invent crim]es relating to the possession, production or distribution of extreme or violent pornography, and acts of necrophilia…Minister Jim O’Callaghan [promied the scheme by absurdly barfing]…”contributes to perpetuating misogynistic attitudes” [in a government know for misogynistic laws against abortion, sex work, etc]…

Feudalism Redux (#1605)

Most federal courts below the SCOTUS level are still doing their jobs:

…Mayday Health runs a website with information about where people can obtain abortion pills…[but] doesn’t provide abortion pill prescriptions itself…Nonetheless, South Dakota has been engaged in a monthslong First Amendment battle with the group, [absurdly claim]ing…the [First Amendment doesn’t apply to speech about]…abortion…Mayday sued…[over the] unconstitutional [censorship attempt and] U.S. District Judge Camela Theeler seems poised to agree…[as she has] issued a preliminary injunction against South Dakota enforcing the law against Mayday or against…[politician] Nancy Turbak Berry….[for] wearing a Mayday sweatshirt…with…the…[same] message…[as] on Mayday’s gas station placards…South Dakota’s abortion advertising law is a[n illegal] content-based restriction on speech…Commercial speech is generally held to receive less First Amendment protection than non-commercial speech.  But Mayday’s website is not commercial speech, as…”there is no evidence that Mayday holds an economic motivation for its advertisements…Rather, [it]…is a nonprofit organization expressing a moral belief and providing information for free”…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1622)

These things are designed to appeal to the dregs of humanity:

[Perve]rt glasses might seem like a great way of cheating on exams, [if you]…are [a moral imbecile], but…[it may result in legal] consequences …A…South Korea[n] man is facing criminal charges…after using [perve]rt glasses to cheat on a state-run fire engineer test in May.  [When] he was…[caught by the test] administrator…he…pretty much copped to the entire thing…This isn’t the first instance where [perve]rt glasses have been at the center of an academic cheating scandal, but it’s a particularly [serious] one given the context of the exam…it’s fair to say that someone’s competency could be a contributing factor in whether people live or die…

Walled Garden (#1651)

The open internet will soon be a thing of the past:

Senator Ed Markey…rolled out what he [advertises as] an “AI Accountability Agenda”…[but in reality] he wants to [put] unchecked power [to spy on and censor the internet]…into the hands of the American [government]…Two bills in the s[cheme]…move the internet toward a place where you prove your age before you read a page or say anything on it…[one is] brand[ed] COPPA 2.0…[and] lifts the age of a [restri]cted user from under 13 to under 17, then rewrites the rule that decides when a company is liable…[so] an ordinary website…has to judge whether some hypothetical reasonable person would have figured out that a visitor was under 17.  If you guess wrong, the Federal [Government] can [destroy your business].  The cheapest way to stop guessing is to card everyone at the door…Age gates…stand between a reader and everyone else’s expression, and they turn speaking up into a chore rather than a reflex…

Walled Garden (#1652)

Politicians love aping each other’s schemes while also ignoring their failure:

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen signaled that a European Union–wide identity verification scheme for social media users may be coming soon…[saying] “It is up to [the government] to decide when children…can join social media”…[and] touting the European Commission’s [failed] age-verification app…In truly Orwellian fashion, von der Leyen claimed that “this is about putting power back into the hands of parents”…despite report after report suggesting that Australia’s ban is a flop…politicians in the U.S. and in the U.K. are rushing to emulate Australia.  Now, it looks like the whole of the European Union could be next…

 

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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This all seems like a horror story or a lie.  –  Greidy Mata

Feudalism Redux (#1562)

This unhinged lunacy will spread like rot until struck down by a court:

South Dakota…[politicians are aping a censorship tactic already in use by Texas, Florida, Arkansas, Utah, Indiana, and many others, abuse of consumer protection law]: They’re claiming that informational abortion ads constitute deceptive advertising…The case stems from gas station ads purchased by Mayday.Health, which…does not sell or prescribe abortion pills itself, nor is it affiliated with any abortion providers or clinics…It’s…[only] an information clearinghouse…[wannabe censors] argue…that because these ads don’t clearly “state the prohibitions listed in state law,” they are somehow deceptive.  But nowhere do the ads imply that abortion is legal in South Dakota.  They simply direct people to a website where they can learn more about abortion access…Mayday refused to [comply with politicians’ tantrums by] remov[ing] the ads from South Dakota gas stations…

Creepy Coppers (Nasty Pictures)

When the victim is a child, sometimes cops do face consequences for their actions:

[A North Carolina] police chief [named] Greg Warren [has been] denied bond…[after his] arrest…for…[taking] indecent…photos of [a sleeping teenage girl with]…his iPad…[and] stor[ing them] in a hidden folder on [his] phone [for masturbatory purposes.  It is unclear how the victim is related to Warren]…in a[n unusual move]…Warren has been suspended without pay…

The Cop Myth (#1572)

Cop violence is never limited to adults:

A [typical and representative California cop named…Retuquel Dupree…and [his girlfriend] Jessica Savangsy…have both been charged with…tortur[ing]…Savangsy’s [7-year-old] daughter…[to death and torturing] her little sister…[both the surviving 5-year-old] and…Dupree’s two daughters…were placed in [foster] care…the couple were already facing criminal charges…of grand theft and criminal conspiracy…and…Dupree [was enjoying a paid vacation as a result]…Dupree [has a history of domestic violence]…

They tried to hide this murderer’s cophood not only by using the distancing “former”, but by burying the lede down in paragraph 17.

Above the Law (#1599)

Federal thugs behave just like state & local thugs:

…a s[ocial media] video…appears to show a[n ICE goon forcing a captured woman] into a [“]porta-potty” in Minnesota…[then crowd]ing…into the [disgusting space with her, apparently for some form]…of sexual abuse…

The Cop Myth (#1601)

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

…a…62-year-old [retired New York cop named]…Michael Lynch [went on a rampage in a hospital]…with a [broken] toilet seat…and…[had to be gunned] down…[like a dog after] tasers…did not work…to stop hi[s running amok.  He had]…checked himself in…the day before [because he thought he was having a stroke]…

Torture Chamber (#1601)

This will continue until the evil US immigration policy is reformed:

…Randall Gamboa Esquivel…left Costa Rica in good health and crossed [into] the United States…in December 2024…[he] was [captured] by [ICE goons and locked in a series of cages for]…10 months[, during which time he was violently abused until]…September 2025, [when] the Trump [regime dumped him in] the Costa Rican capital of San José [in a vegetative state]…He…[died] five weeks later…His younger sister, Greidy Mata, said…Gamboa had sounded and looked healthy when they talked via video calls…until 12 June…after which he seemed to vanish…Medical records…show that…he…was…transfer[red]…to [a hospital]…on 23 June…[doped up on] antipsychotic and antidepressant medications…de[spite no]…history of mental illness…By 7 July, Gamboa had been diagnosed with at least 10 conditions…[including] sepsis…and toxic encephalopathy, caused by [internal injuries of the sort that might result from a savage beating]…

Shame, Shame (#1604)

I’m surprised these are the only countries blocking MechaHitler so far:

[MechaHitler] has been blocked by Indonesia and Malaysia, the first countries to do so after the [chatbot] flooded the internet with photos of women and [girls] in suggestive and [violent] manipulated images…both [are] Muslim-majority countries with strict anti-pornography laws…[but] officials in the United Kingdom, European Union[, Canada, Australia,] and India [are also contemplating blocking either MechaHitler alone or Twitter entirely]…

 

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

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We have a child problem and it’s probably time to talk about it.  –  unnamed Facebook employee, April 2017

See No Evil (#1505)

The Japanese are the only people left on Earth who can tell fantasy from reality:

One of the hundreds of laws adopted by Texas recently [invent]s a…felony…[for merely looking at any nude picture of a fictional character] that appears to [any Texas politician to] be…younger than 18 years of age…[within the fictional universe inhabited by the characters, despite all Japanese animation characters looking like that.  Politicians justified the prohibitionist onset by barfing out the marketing term “]artificial intelligence[“, yet clearly states that the law applies to]…“a cartoon or animation[“.  Comics book store owners]…have…already pulled some volumes of…popular Japanese comic[s]…due to concerns [of being targeted by violent censors]…

Shame, Shame (#1535)

Zuckerberg is completely out of his mind:

…[Facebook has repeatedly claimed that] child safety [is] a top priority across its platforms.  But…researcher[s working for the company]…said…[it routinely] suppressed research that might have illuminated potential safety risks to children and teens on the company’s virtual reality devices and apps…[on orders from] its legal team…[which] seek[s] to “establish plausible deniability” about negative effects of the company’s products…[even though] children younger than 13 [routinely] bypass…age restrictions to use the company’s virtual reality services…In Zuckerberg’s [deranged] vision, people will maneuver in and out of virtual and physical spaces for work, entertainment and socializing…But earnings reports show that Reality Labs, the company’s virtual reality division, has lost more than $60 billion over the past five years…In 2021, a…child sex offender in Michigan…was sentenced to 35 years in prison [for trying to lure children via the so-called “Metaverse”, and] in 2022, a…man [molested] a 13-year-old girl [after abducting her]…in Utah after they, too, met and interacted…the [same way]…

Eavesdropping (#1537)

As if rude assholes talking loudly on cell phones wasn’t bad enough:

[A chatbot in a] pendant is now…[available] for $129…[“Friend”] connects…through [an] iPhone…to a chatbot in [someone else’s computer] that’s powered by Google’s Gemini…You can tap on the disc to ask [the chatbot] questions…and it responds…by sending…text messages through the companion app…It also listens to whatever you’re doing…and offers a running commentary on the interactions [with non-consenting strangers] you have…[via] microphones that are always activated…wearing the [“]Friend[“] will likely earn you the ire of everyone around you…[especially because it] is the creation of Avi Schiffmann…a creepy…man in his early twenties…[who] can be brash, snarky, and vocally unconcerned about critical feedback, and…that attitude has carried over to the device he has infused with his essence…[which] comes off as opinionated, judgy, and downright condescending…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1553)

“Criminality” is a status defined entirely by the State:

…ICE…recently spent nearly four million dollars on facial recognition technology…to [find] people it [pretend]s have assaulted [its goons]…Clearview has…repeatedly contracted with ICE…but those purchases did not explicitly say the technology would be used to identify people the agency [wished to target with spurious claims of “]assaulting officers[“]…

Creepy Coppers (#1554)

One of the people the government empowers to police your sexuality:

A[n Alabama screw] is under arrest for sending [dick pics] and [porn] videos to [underage girls] through Snapchat…Christopher Thomason…sent…more than 100 [dick pics] of him [wearing his magical clown costume] to at least three underage [girls, one]…of [whom was]…12…He [also] tried to meet up with a girl at a high school football game…his boss h[og used the opportunity to strut around bloviating self-aggrandizing copaganda]…

Walled Garden

This “monkey see, monkey do” parade is now parading around the world:

Aussies [who don’t use VPNs] will soon be required to [ask Nanny permission to access any part of the internet any politician chooses to point at while barfing “]pornography[“, “]violence[“]…[“]inappropriate[“, or whatever other magic words they choose to add later]…Companies [can be targeted by politicians for looting using] the new laws [as an excuse]…Similar rules will be imposed on apps…includ[ing]…chatbots…[the] government…last year [declared that it didn’t give a shit]…about breaches of privacy…

Walled Garden (#1565)

The open internet is becoming a thing of the past:

After blocking its service in Mississippi over its new [beg-for-permission-to-use-the-internet] law, [Bluesky] is taking a different approach to comply with [surveillance] laws in South Dakota and Wyoming…users [without VPNs] in South Dakota and Wyoming can [submit to surveillance]…through…Kids Web Services’ (KWS)…the same [data-selling company it uses] to comply with the U.K.’s [misnamed] Online Safety Act…[which in actuality puts] users at increased risk of identity theft…

 

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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If [every single]…book…[in] public school libraries constitutes government speech, the State is babbling prodigiously and incoherently.  –  Frederick Sperling

If Men Were Angels

Another “youth pastor”, another distancing “former”:

A Jersey City pastor [named]…Robert Anthony…Langston…[repeatedly molested at least] two [boys under 15 while he was “youth pastor”] of Landmark Tabernacle in Denver…in [the late ’90s.  One of the]…victims…had an abusive situation at home…[and] was groomed…to…accompan[y] Langston and his wife as they evangelized across the U.S. and eventually settled in Jersey City…[where] he…continued to be “groped and assaulted” by the pastor after [2003]…he…was “very scared” to report the abuse because “the church is very anti-homosexuality.”  The second victim…[said] Langston…“appeared to prefer boys in the church who had absent fathers or were raised by their grandparents”…

To Molest and Rape

Some rapist cops are indiscriminate in their habits:

A [California cop named]…Juan Pensina…[has been] arrest[ed on numerous charges of forcible vaginal, anal, and oral rape, but also rewarded with a paid vacation]…Pensina [raped some of] the…victims while [wearing his magical clown costume] and…[some not, both in his pigmobile and] in…[other places]…

The Last Shall Be First (#1537)

What kind of warped mind thinks this is OK?

A Minnesota teen [has] filed a charge of discrimination against a Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant…after…a server followed her into the women’s restroom and demanded she “prove” she was a girl.  Gerika Mudra…[was harassed by the] server[, who]…banged on the stall door while saying, “This is a women’s restroom. The man needs to get out of here”…Mudra, a biracial lesbian who is not transgender, said she’s been in similar situations before…but…[this] woman [would not] leave her alone…[until] she unzipped her hoodie to show she has breasts.  The server didn’t say anything in response but left the restroom…

Thought Control (#1548)

Florida censors lose every challenge, but it doesn’t stop them:

A federal judge…struck down [most] of a Florida law that’s been used to remove [thousan]ds of books from public school libraries since it was enacted in 2023…Judge Carlos Mendoza…struck down…[provisions] that made it easier to challenge books if they included any sexual content…[so] the…[standard] reverts back to…the Miller Test…The 2023 law…[had exposed] educators…to…criminal penalties and los[s of] their teaching certificates if [any censorious Froot Loop chose to point at any book while barfing the word “]inappropriate[“]…As a result, Florida led the country in school book bans last year with 4,561 instances…State officials [horrifyingly] argued…that Florida was entitled to regulate books in public school libraries [because] such actions amounted to…“government speech”…

Mad Libs (#1550)

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

…doctors [who rely on chatbots can lose] skills after just a few months…a new study..[showed machine learning programs could] help…health professionals…detect pre-cancerous growths in the colon, but when the assistance was removed, their ability to find tumors dropped by about 20% compared with rates before the tool was ever introduced…[bureaucrats] around the world are…[trying to cram so-called “]AI[” in]to [healthcare systems] with a view to boosting…pro[fitabil]ity…[but] doctors [quickly] become over-reliant on its recommendations, “leading to clinicians becoming less motivated, less focused, and less responsible when making cognitive decisions without [computer interfere]nce,” the…paper [said]…Yuichi Mori…one of the scientists involved, predicted that the effects of de-skilling will “probably be higher” as [machine learning systems are crammed into more areas of expertise]…

Walled Garden

The open internet is becoming a thing of the past:

…age verification laws went into effect in Wyoming and South Dakota, requiring sites [any politician points at while barfing the formula] “material that is harmful to minors” to verify visitors are over 18 years old.  Th[is is not] just…two more states joining the nearly 30 that have [embraced]…invasive, ineffective methods of keeping kids away from porn online…[because] unlike the laws passed in other states, they don’t state that this applies only to sites with “33.3 percent” or one-third “harmful” material…which…opens a huge swath of sites to the [surveillance] burden…The same [pro-censorship gangs] that have lobbied for age verification laws…have also spent years targeting social media platforms…and…streaming services like Netflix, for hosting adult content…age-gating the entire internet only pushes adult consumers and [adolescents] alike into less-regulated…spaces and situations, while everyone just uses VPNs to get around gates

The Cop Myth (#1562)

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

Carlos Baker, the Chicago [cop] who [murdered] his partner Krystal Rivera…[has now] attacked a[nother] female [cop]…The [victim reported]…that Baker and another woman beat her [on August 10th] at [a] bar…[because she wouldn’t] delete [certain] videos taken on her cellphone…[she] escaped, with the help of others, and had a friend take her to [the] hospital…It’s not clear what’s on the videos…Officials…have referred to the shooting [of Rivera] as an accident, but [her] family has called for an outside investigation …[because] Rivera had been a key witness to the theft of a…gun…and [Baker may have wanted to silence her.  His]…career as a cop has been [characteriz]ed by disciplinary problems from the start, including a complaint…[due to his stalking] another…woman at a bar…[and threatening] her…[with] a gun…and…more than a dozen [other reports] of misconduct since joining the [pig herd] in December 2021…

 

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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Should…the United States…abandon the human right to privacy and the U.S. Constitution, everyone will lose.  –  Fight for the Future

If Men Were Angels

This will continue until fools stop teaching children unquestioning obedience to “authority”:

A…[South Carolina] preacher…[named] William Franklin Galbreath…[has been] arrested…[for repeatedly] sexually assaulting a victim in 2019 while she was a child and [continuing to do] so in her teenage years from 2022 until this year…[there also appears to be] a 2nd [teenage] victim…

Under Review (#779)

Though the “sex trafficking” panic is over, UK politicians are still bleating nonsense about “pimping” and “pizza”:

During the…reading of…[a] bill…[a UK politician named] Rebecca Paul [suddenly started bloviating about]…“the scourge of commercial sexual exploitation” [and demanded] banning advertising of prostitution online[, no doubt via a giant firewall which would keep Brits from accessing any site outside the country]…Paul [seemed to be having some kind of retro seizure, vomiting out decayed garbage from 2012 about]…“young people…treated as merchandise…[by] pimps and traffickers”…“the Etsy of sexual exploitation”…[and] “pizza”…

Decentralization (#1181)

Using the mad emperor’s two favorite bugaboos to ramp up surveillance:

More than one million Americans are about to [be subjected to] a new level of financial surveillance.  The Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network…announced that the threshold for currency transaction reports has been lowered from $10,000 to $200 for Americans living in 30 zip codes in California and Texas…[using the excuse that it’s] “to further combat the illicit activities and money laundering of Mexico-based cartels…along the southwest border of the United States”…Alex Nowrasteh…[of] the Cato Institute…warned people in February that…Trump’s decision to [falsely] designate cartels as terrorists could have repercussions for civil liberties and the economy at large…the designation would allow the government to freeze assets, enact secondary sanctions, and take greater control of the financial system generally…

I Spy (#1376)

In mass surveillance, fascism beats communism hands down:

A contractor for…ICE…and many other U.S. government agencies has developed a tool that lets analysts more easily pull a target individual’s publicly available data from a wide array of sites, social networks, apps, and services across the web at once, including Bluesky, OnlyFans, and various [Facebook properties], according to a leaked list of…more than 200 sites that…ShadowDragon…[illicitly] pulls data from and makes available to its government clients, allowing them to map out a person’s activity, movements, and relationships.  The news comes after ICE detained Mahmoud Khalil, a prominent Columbia University protester and green card holding legal permanent resident…with the intention of deporting him…Multiple tech companies and websites whose public data ShadowDragon pulls [complain that] the contractor [is] violating their terms of use around scraping…

The Vultures Descend (#1483)

This insanity will keep getting worse until these maniacs are forcibly stopped:

States have long kept centralized databases to monitor prescriptions for…drugs [they think politicians should control instead of doctors].  Now, abortion pills are being [added to the list]…in [forced-birth states].  Last May, Louisiana [launched that particular “monkey see, monkey do” parade]…Bamboo Health, the [fascist] company running Louisiana’s prescription [surveillance] database, is ready to track the drugs.  As of March, Louisiana clinicians are required to log every mifepristone and misoprostol prescription they write in Bamboo’s database…[and] Texas, Indiana, and Idaho are considering similar [spying]…Prescription monitoring programs…are routinely [ab]used to [persecu]te doctors for…doing [their jobs when politicians have decided they know better.  Similar campaigns were used to make examples of doctors for giving suffering patients]…much-needed [pain] care [in order to terrorize] doctors…for doing their jobs…[doctors practicing] reproductive medicine could share the same fate…

No Escape (#1488)

The inevitable result of giving aggressive men total power over women:

In women’s prisons, sexual intrusion, harassment, coercion and violence are daily realities.  And in solitary confinement, this conduct is so routine that many women — particularly the younger ones…believe it’s simply an inevitable part of their incarceration…This isn’t just a few rotten apples in one facility.  In 2023, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TCDJ) reported over 700 [incident]s of staff-on-prisoner sexual abuse and harassment to the PREA Ombudsman…Almost 90 of those cases involved sexual harassment, nearly 150 were categorized as voyeurism, and a little more than 500 were classified as sexual abuse…[but] only 20% met the prison system’s onerous criteria for sexual assault or “improper sexual activity with a person in custody”…these stats only scratch the surface…prisons…make the grievance process too painful to be worth it.  Women who make reports can end up being cited for having an “inappropriate relationship” with a guard, which is grounds for being sent to solitary…[which] means no phone calls, and contact visits can also be suspended during investigations, which I’ve seen last 60 to 90 days, or even longer.  In the hole, guards use a variety of methods to retaliate against women who complain about their abuse.  They can write bogus disciplinary infractions that can lead to the loss of visits and phone calls, more time in solitary confinement, and ultimately a longer sentence.  [Screws] can also turn off the electricity and running water in women’s cells and refuse to serve them meals…

Thought Control (#1515)

They realized there would be public outcry if the state actually started arresting librarians, so they’re trying to seem more “reasonable”:

The South Dakota Senate gutted a bill…that would have subjected librarians to criminal prosecution for [working in a library containing any book any politician decided to point at while belching “]obscene material[“]…and replaced that language with a [demand] that [wannabe censors be]…allow[ed to] appeal…[any decision by any librarian in]…court…Supporters of the original version [foamed at the mouth while making barbaric threats.  Pro-censorship politician]…Taffy Howard…[actually called for literally lynching librarians]…

 

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

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We can always rely on our government to assault our autonomy.  –  Jeffrey Singer and Mike Fox

License to Rape (#1169)

Doctors need to keep suing cops who pretend they have license to practice medicine:

On Aug. 10, 2024, police [abduct]ed a Lorain, Ohio, resident whom the police [fantasiz]ed inserted a baggy containing illegal drugs into their rectum…[then] transported the [victim] to Mercy Hospital’s Emergency Department and demanded that doctors remove the [imaginary] baggie.  Doctors…refused to perform the ill-advised procedure—even after police secured a warrant…[because they] lacked the [victim]’s informed consent and were concerned that if they attempted to remove the [hypothetical] baggy, it might burst, causing whatever it contained to leak out and get rapidly absorbed through the rectal lining — potentially killing the [cops’ victim.  The cops] then threatened to arrest the doctor in charge for refusing to violate the patient’s bodily autonomy…[but] the doctors stood their ground, and the police eventually released the[ir victim] after failing to [manufacture] any evidence of the [manufactur]ed crime of possessing a government-forbidden substance…the[n]…retaliated against the hospital by abruptly refusing to provide security.  The hospital is now suing

The Last Shall Be First (#1410)

Paxton doesn’t give a damn about women’s sports; he just wants to humiliate women and persecute trans people:

[Serial lawsuit abuser Ken Paxton] wants the NCAA to…require gen[etic] testing for athletes who compete in women’s sports…[he] filed a [nuisance] lawsuit in state district court…seek[ing] a court order requiring gender screening for athletes and an injunction intended to prevent the NCAA from [disagreeing with him]…the NCAA changed its participation policy for transgender athletes, limiting competition in women’s sports to athletes who were…female at birth…a day after [Emperor] Trump [made an imperial proclamation] intended to ban transgender athletes from women’s and girls’ sports.  Paxton [fantasizes that huge numbers of]…biological men [are declaring themselves trans and taking female hormones] to surreptitiously participate in women’s’ sports…NCAA President Charlie Baker in December said he knew of only 10 transgender athletes out of more than 500,000 across the NCAA…

The Puritan Recrudescence (#1426)

Censorious politicians aren’t just copying each other; they’re vying to make their new laws the most unconstitutional:

More than a dozen states have passed or are considering laws to require [web]sites to [demand identity information from] adults who want to visit them…So far, each of them…have applied the rule to sites on which a third or more of the content [can be called] pornography [by politicians without provoking outright mockery from judges].  South Dakota could soon be the first state to affix the expectation to any site that [does not completely ban anything remotely like nudity, a la Facebook.  Censorious megalomaniacs]…voted 34-0 [in favor]…

When Ambulance-Chasers Run the Hospitals (#1443)

The claims in these nuisance lawsuits are increasingly absurd:

[Florida] attorney general…James Uthmeier [has] filed a [nuisance lawsuit] against retail giant Target…claiming it defrauded investors in the process of promoting “radical LGBTQ activism”.  The [term is Uthmeier’s dysphemism for] the Minnesota-based company’s 2023 Pride campaign…[which culture-war fanatics u]sed…[to attack] Target…Uthmeier’s office, with the help of [pro-censorship law firm] America First Legal, claims Target “misled investors by claiming to monitor the social and political risks posed by its DEI…initiatives”…[Uthmeir pretends to have standing to sue because unions representing] Florida…[pigs] and teachers [include Target stock in their pension fund investments.  Uthmeier said,]…“My office will stridently pursue…offensive political theatre [at taxpayer expense]”…and…“use the court system to [harass my political enemies].”

Guinea Pigs (#1453) 

Erosion of civil rights usually starts with the marginalized, but never stops there:

A Department of Homeland Security unit eliminated policies prohibiting [spying]…based solely on a [victim]’s gender identity or sexual orientation.  The Office of Intelligence and Analysis [has] posted an updated policy manual…that [now allows spooks to target US citizens merely because they are LGBT, due to Emperor] Trump’s Jan. 20 [imperial edict] to scrap…[all] protections fo[r minorities]…across federal agencies.  I&A’s work has attracted close scrutiny for years because of its…focus…[on] US citizens…

Vulture Watching (#1495)

Texas doesn’t care how many women die because of its terrible laws:

Pregnancy became far more dangerous in Texas after the state banned abortion in 2021…The rate of sepsis shot up more than 50% for women hospitalized when they lost their pregnancies in the second trimester…[especially if] the…fetus…still…had [cardiac myocyte activity, incorrectly called “]a heartbeat[” by forced-birth politicians.  While]…the maternal mortality rate dropped nationally…it rose substantially in Texas…[where] the state…threatens [doctors with life]…in prison for providing [necessary medical care]…to…miscarrying patients…Sepsis…is one of the leading causes of deaths in hospitals…[but] Texas…hospitals don’t allow [doctors] to [empty the uterus] until…fetal [cardiac myocyte activity] stops or they can document a life-threatening complication…

If Men Were Angels (#1505)

Preachy perverts nearly always blame their crimes on others:

A [typical and representative] Yakima [Washington] pastor was sentenced Feb. 18 to 30 years in prison for making, possessing and sharing child sexual abuse images.  David Roger Franklin…was arrested after a computer technician working on Franklin’s laptop at his office found folders containing video and photos depicting sexual abuse in June 2022…some of the photos were taken with Franklin’s cellphone of a [girl he knew in the time when she was] 4…to…6…The girl told detectives that Franklin took the photos of her and abused her…he…also had images on his computer of [other] adult men sexually abusing [other] young girls…[Franklin was also] a chaplain in the Civil Air Patrol, and a leader in the Royal Rangers…a Christian scouting-type organization for boys…Franklin…[refused to accept responsibility, claiming that watching] pornography…“began to degrade his mind” and led to hi[s] abusing the girl…

 

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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Just because the tech exists doesn’t mean people/employers have to abuse it.

Pyrrhic Victory (#1065) 

Facial recognition systems have quietly become ubiquitous:

Wegmans Food Markets has launched a facial recognition pilot program at one of its New York City locations, prompting some shoppers to express concerns about privacy and pricing…a Wegmans spokesperson [claimed] the pilot will run for 60 days and…will involve employees who have agreed to participate…the spokesperson [also belched out buzzwords like]…“commitment”…”safe”…”exploring”…and…”security”…the move could usher in dynamic pricing….already…in use by Walmart and Kroger…

Creepy Coppers

One of the people the government empowers to police your sexuality:

A [typical and representative Oklahoma cop named]…Ryan Matthew Matthias…[was arrested] for having several files of obscene images of children online…they [tossed his house and found more]…on…several digital devices…

Checklist (#1380)

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

A Virginia Beach man was [harassed with “]human trafficking[” propaganda] by Southwest Airlines and [interrogated by] Norfolk International Airport police…John Kerrigan was flying with his [teenage] daughter…and her…friend…back from Las Vegas….[every time] Kerrigan would get up to go to the restroom, the flight attendant was [repeatedly] asking the girls…peculiar questions.  “She keeps asking if we’re all right and if we know you,” Kerrigan[‘s] daughter…told him…Southwest called airport police during the flight [to continue the harassment of not just]…Kerrigan…but the [other] passengers w[ho were detained in their seats while]…three [little pigs] got on and…[humiliated] Kerrigan…[with their sexual fantasies in front of] all of the other passengers…[after interrogating him] for about 20 minutes…[they final]ly let him go…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1479)

All cops will have these within a few years:

A new app developed by a trio of [sociopath]s in Indiana is…using facial recognition technology to provide information about individuals just by looking at them.  The app…utilizes ChatGPT and Meta Glass technology to access public information archives.  “So, we all have a digital footprint, right? How good would it be if eventually, like there aren’t secrets. Knowing who I’m talking to, knowing who I’m about to meet,” said Kris Peterson, [apparently unaware of what a moral imbecile he is revealing himself to be]…Peterson demonstrated how the app could change a stranger’s phone passcode and even access phone contacts to make calls…

The Cop Myth (#1480)

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

A [sociopathic thug paid by the state of Kansas to torture helpless people locked in cages like animals has been] arrested…for…domestic violence…[Sheriff Jeff Easter of] Sedgwick County [delayed action for weeks, is hiding the thugs’s name and picture, and rewarded him with a paid vacation even though he tried to] strangle [his girlfriend on October 7th, then since he was not arrested, beat]…her…on Oct. 28…

The Vultures Descend (#1486)

A few states are managing to beat off the vultures:

…reproductive freedom initiatives…prevailed in seven of the ten states where they were on the ballot.  Measures meant to protect abortion access were approved by voters in Arizona, Colorado, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, and New York.  And most of these weren’t close calls at all…Until [last week], the pro-choice position prevailed in every state where abortion-related measures were on the ballot, including…Kansas, Kentucky, and Ohio.  That…pattern is broken somewhat by results in Florida, Nebraska, and South Dakota…In Florida, 57 percent of voters supported…an Amendment to Limit Government Interference with Abortion…but it falls short of the 60 percent approval threshold required for constitutional amendments in Florida.  In Nebraska, [only] 48.7 percent of voters approved the state’s Right to Abortion measure…But a competing measure—Initiative 434—passed 55.3 percent…and…allows for first trimester abortions but prohibits second and third trimester abortion unless “necessitated by a medical emergency or when the pregnancy results from sexual assault or incest.”  Only in South Dakota…did a reproductive freedom initiative truly flop…

The Cop Myth (#1487)

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

A…Cleveland [cop who wasn’t wearing his magical Clown Costume of Legal Immunity tried to murder his wife]…outside of [an] elementary school [on Halloween]…Alexander Sinclair was [fighting with his victim] off-site and carried…the [violence into the] parking lot…[after ramming] the [victim’s] vehicle [with his]…

 

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

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Anytime there’s a bipartisan consensus and a preachy New York Times op-ed, you can assume something you enjoy is about to get regulated out of existence or made worse in quality.  –  Liz Wolfe

Broken Record (#687) 

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

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

The Last Shall Be First (#924)

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

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

Above the Law (#1142)

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

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

You Were Warned (#1279)

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

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

Neither Addiction Nor Epidemic (#1293)

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

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

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

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

Thought Control (#1328)

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

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

To Molest and Rape (#1358)

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

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

 

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

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No one wins in this.  –  Connor Cook

If Men Were Angels

It’s getting harder to tell the preachers from the cops:  “A pastor [named Fredy Gonzalez]…in Wildomar [California] has been arrested for [molesting] a child…

A Broker in Pillage (#1118)

Burying government in lawsuits is the only way to slow its depredations:

Vera and Apollonia Ward…were just getting a dog-breeding business off the ground…when…[cops attempted to rob]…them…the…sisters…had…tried to send $17,500 in cash through FedEx to a…California…dog broker…to scout and purchase two new animals for them…[like most people, they did not know] FedEx [has a] fa[scist pact with cops which allows them to root through parcels at FedEx sorting centers if they claim a dog gave them permission.  The cops first vomited out the phrase]…drug proceeds…[and claimed their Sooper Cop noses] smelled marijuana on the money…[but] the sisters…had receipts to [show they had withdrawn the cash from their bank]…When the sisters refused to cave and say the money was drug proceeds, the…[cops] threatened to go after them for money laundering…[but] after the Wards connected with the Goldwater Institute, prosecutors relented and returned the…money…six months [later]…

The Cop Myth (#1191)

Well, this is certainly novel:

A Miami [cop was]…shot in the head by his estranged…girlfriend…Yessenia Sanchez…a[nother cop paid to lurk in]…school[s in order to spy on and harass students]…Sanchez went to [Damian] Colon’s [home]…around 6:30 a.m. on Nov. 4…to argue [with him], a[fter] which [she]…shot [him]…then fled…in a red pick up truck, [which she almost immediately wrecked into]…an oncoming car.  She [then]…los[t] control, hit two parked cars…and continued for another block until her [truck died, after which she]…fled on foot…[and] was later arrested at her home…

Stalkers in Blue (#1240)

This kind of behavior is just another sexual power trip:

A [typical and representative Mountie] convicted of multiple sex offences has been sentenced to 18 months in jail…Andrew Seangio…will [also] be placed on a sex offender registry for 10 years…[because] between 2018 and February 2019…he exposed himself to four girls, one of whom was just 14 years old, as well as [disguised cops]…Seangio would drive…past York House School and Little Flower Academy, both all-girls K-12 private schools, until he spotted an isolated victim.  He would then roll down his window, expose himself and drive away…

Thought Control (#1261)

Just keep plunging that ice pick in; the bad thoughts will go away eventually:

[When] the Patmos Library millage failed in…August…it lost 84% of its operating budget because its staff refused to remove its LGBTQ books.  The board put it on the ballot again [last week]…hoping that with more residents aware of the measure, it would pass.  It failed, again.  Without taxpayer funds, the library will close.  Exactly when that will happen is not yet known.  A GoFundMe for the library raised about $265,000, with the help of author Nora Roberts, but it won’t be enough to sustain it long-term…

Imaginary Victims (#1274) 

The state is far too concerned with “punishing” this girl to actually help her:

…On November 4, [Pieper] Lewis cut off her GPS tracker and [escaped] from [a gingerbread house named] Fresh Start…[cops] issued a warrant for her arrest…and [she was captured 5 days later]…Judge David Porter sentenced Lewis in September to probation for five years to be served at the [gingerbread house].  He also gave her a deferred judgment, which meant her conviction would be expunged from her record if she [successfully jumped through all the] probation [hoops].  Porter warned Lewis at her sentencing hearing that by affording her an opportunity to avoid prison he was giving her a second chance.  “You don’t get a third,” he said…[because of her escape, pigs want] the court to…revoke her probation and deferred judgment and send her to prison…

Winding Down (#1286)

When will the federal government finally read the writing on the wall?

Voters…approved the legalization of recreational marijuana in Maryland and Missouri while rejecting similar measures in Arkansas, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Meanwhile, voters in five Texas cities passed ballot measures that bar local police from issuing citations or making arrests for low-level marijuana possession.  But the most striking election result for drug policy reformers looking beyond the ongoing collapse of marijuana prohibition happened in Colorado, where a broad psychedelic decriminalization measure [squeaked by despite clucking from puritans that not sending cops to destroy people’s lives over possession of plants]…is bad, because people might use psychedelics for fun…

 

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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