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Posts Tagged ‘The Mob Rules’

In the News (#1344)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 3, 2023| 2 Comments »

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

If Men Were Angels

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

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

The Puritan Recrudescence (#907)

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

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

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

Held Together With Lies (#938)

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

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

Winding Down (#1289)

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

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

Panopticon (#1316)

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

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

You Were Warned (#1337)

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

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

Torture Chamber (#1343)

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

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

 

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

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In the News (#1342)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 27, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Americans’ privacy shouldn’t depend on whether the government uses a court order or credit card.  –  Ron Wyden

I Spy (#1067)

In mass surveillance, fascism beats communism hands down:

Customs and Border Protection…is using an invasive…[surveillance] tool to screen travelers, including U.S. citizens, refugees, and people seeking asylum, which can…link their social media posts to their Social Security number and location data…Called Babel X, the system lets a user input a piece of information about a target—their name, email address, or telephone number—and receive a bevy of data…includ[ing the victim’s] social media posts, linked IP address, employment history, and unique advertising identifiers associated with their mobile phone…Babel Street…the tool[‘s maker, claims it]…is also able to perform “sentiment analysis”…

Winding Down (#1133)

Washington state politicians demonstrate their hypocrisy:

The Washington Supreme Court effectively decriminalized drug use two years ago…[politicians] predictably viewed…that…as intolerable, and…promptly approved a [temporary] law that made possession a misdemeanor…That law is scheduled to expire on July 1, which prompted a bipartisan panic…[resulting in] a new bill criminalizing drug possession, which Gov. Jay Inslee immediately signed into law…[because] he…[claims] drug users cannot be trusted to decide for themselves what they need…[so the state must] ignores their preferences…[by]forcing them, under the threat of jail, to accept the “help” that the state is offering, whether they want it or not.  Although that might look like kidnapping and extortion, Inslee insists it is an act of love.  Notably, that policy does not apply to drinkers…Nor does it apply to cannabis consumers…It applies only to people who use psychoactive substances that the state has deemed beyond the pale…

Policing for Profit (#1166)

No matter how little their victims have, cops will steal it and fuck up their lives in the process:

A [typical and representative] California [cop has] been charged…for…stealing money that a homeless man had saved for dental work…John Sanzone…arrested [the] man [in] August 2022 and found that…he…had $3,500…Sanzone stole it…Sanzone was previously…[accused of stealing] $1,300 during an arrest in 2021…

Panopticon (#1232)

Why pay for surveillance when useful idiots can be talked into providing it?

For the past year [cops in Rialto, California have] been trying to [intimidate] owners of private surveillance cameras [in]to enroll[ing] in…Fusus, a [surveillance] tech company that aims to boost public [surveillance] by making it easier for police to access privately owned surveillance cameras [without warrant or oversight]…In Rialto, the police have access to over 150 livestreams across restaurants, gas stations, and private residential developments – a number they are hoping to increase through [intimidating useful idiots]…Fusus technology is being operated in over 60 different cities and counties across more than a dozen states…[despite the objections of people who care about privacy]…Fusus…tramples the privacy of residents, and…hand[s] police tools that are easily abused…

Judging by Houston and San Francisco, this won’t stay voluntary for long.

On the Simultaneous Having and Eating of Cake (#1266)

Another baby step toward recognizing sex work as work:

After months of late-night picketing in North Hollywood, the dancers of the Star Garden Topless Dive Bar have become the only unionized strippers in the US.  Their victory was finalized with a unanimous vote by 17 dancers in favor of unionization…and marks the first time that the Actors Equity association, a century-old union for stage actors, singers and dancers, will represent strip club workers…The campaign, which started in March 2022, was galvanized by…unsafe working conditions and…retaliatory firings of dancers who tried to address customers’ dangerous behavior themselves…“While some elements of their job are unique, [strippers] are essentially performance artists, and have a lot in common with other Equity members who dance for a living,” Kate Shindle, the union president, said in a statement…

The Last Shall Be First (#1319) 

It’s two!  Two!  Two fads in one!

In late April, an abortion ban failed to pass in Nebraska—but Republicans weren’t ready to give up on it.  So they tacked an abortion ban onto a bill banning gender-affirming care for…minors…and passed the whole Frankenstein bill on [May 19th]…The final bill bans abortion after 12 weeks…and bans gender-affirming surgeries for everyone under the age of 19…the state chief medical officer [will be required] to design new rules for…trans…care that is not surgical, such as puberty blockers.  People already receiving treatment are exempt from those restrictions…The bill also includes a [mob rule]…section, [encouraging] citizens to seek…damages…from [any] health care professional who performed gender-affirming care within two years…

The Last Shall Be First (#1337) 

Of course Florida had to have its own “bathroom bill”:

Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida [has] signed…a bill that would criminalize trans people [who use] public restrooms…[appropriate to their] legal…gender [if that is different from their chromosomes and genitalia present at birth]…People…who are accused [by busybodies] of being trans also w[ould] be obligated to undergo genitalia exams, DNA testing, and other invasive procedures…

 

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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When Ambulance-Chasers Run the Hospitals

Posted in Current Events, Philosophy, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , on May 15, 2023| Leave a Comment »

The modern US is the most litigious society which has ever existed, and is likely to be the most litigious one that ever will exist, because when any organism, including a society, exceeds a certain critical parasite load, it is unable to take in enough nourishment to sustain itself.  It’s bad enough that the US body politic is struggling to sustain the massive and malignant tumor called “government”, but that’s only the largest drain on resources; it also must contend with a horrifyingly-huge number of disgusting parasites, both internal and external, eating away at whatever tissues have somehow managed to remain healthy.  And rather than combat these parasites, the government cancer instead enables and even encourages them by dreaming up an ever-larger number of ways for them to further clog the already-overburdened courts with  ridiculous demands for blood from whichever structures seem likely to provide the most for the sucking.  In “The Mob Rules” I wrote,

[When] the process of eliminating the presumption of innocence…proved too slow…politicians hit upon the idea of persecuting individuals they wish to destroy with civil suits rather than prosecuting them in criminal courts, because civil suits have a lower burden of proof and may even allow the persecutors to make a profit…but the tactic still required too much attention from prosecutors and others of their morally-diseased ilk to create the level of carnage desired by authoritarians until some especially-psychopathic individual realized…that a law encouraging any random busybody to file suit for the supposed “offense” would truly open the floodgates…

Of course most of the individuals and corporations politicians are painting targets on are those they wish to eliminate, such as those which allow women to control our own lives, or those which allow people to freely express ideas the government does not like:

…at least eleven school districts around the country have sued the owners of such platforms as Snap, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok seeking financial compensation for the “increased mental health services and training they’ve ‘been forced’ to establish” as a consequence of student use of social media…Cash demands aside, the schools say they want to [control]…the platforms to change how they operate.  These are bad lawsuits that courts should reject.  The suits’ announced goal…is in itself debatable, but the means employed…vaults the whole thing into the realm of the absurd…[politicians] have been advancing proposals lately to regulate social media in the name of protecting minors from its bad influence.  Among the goals are to require age verification and…ban or severely restrict social media access below some threshold age…A recent paper by…Jennifer Huddleston outlined some major objections to the proposals…simply cutting off minors from social media use entirely would ban a great deal of communication almost everyone concedes to be wholesome…and…age verification…can result in the gathering…of sensitive and readily misused personal information…it’s inevitable that some content providers will decide to play safe by not making available certain kinds of sensitive content at all, even for adult eyes…
The article, by the ever-reasonable Walter Olson, is well worth reading in its entirety.  Where and when this insanity will stop, no one can predict.  But it had better be soon, because enabling politicians to continue siccing hordes of useful idiots on anyone or anything they perceive as an enemy is a sure-fire recipe for social and economic collapse.

 

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In the News (#1338)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 13, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Free states don’t ban health care.  –  Lori Berman

If Men Were Angels

Another version of this story tried to gloss over his being a preacher:

A Mississippi minister…[molested] several underage boys he knew from his position as their pastor, tutor, or employer…Daniel Paul Harris…was arrested [on May 4th] and charged with [various molestation offenses]…he…is [the]…pastor…of Olive Branch Christian Church…and [runs]…the Kaimen Center, which provides resources for children and [disabled] adults…Victims told police that they were assaulted on multiple occasions…

To Molest and Rape

This is the kind of man to whom the State gives almost unlimited power over women:

Two [London cops] were arrested…[for] kidnapping and raping a woman…in Kingston…[she appears to have foolishly imagined they could be trusted to pal around with until] they took her by taxi to an address in North London [to]…rape…[her] and h[old her] against her will…The woman reported them on [April 30th]…

Leaving the 20th Century (#1223)

“After deciding, less than two years ago, that pimping should continue to be a crime, the Constitutional Court [of Portugal] opened the way…for…decriminalization…[because]  ‘a person’s decision to engage in prostitution can constitute a full expression of her sexual freedom’…and…it is [therefore] unconstitutional to punish…those who profit from the prostitution of others…”  Amateurs are utterly obsessed with “pimps” and refuse to comprehend that such laws are nearly always used against sex workers who help each other or share expenses, or against the maids, landlords, and romantic partners of sex workers.

To Molest and Rape (#1314)

Give aggressive thugs power over teens; what could possibly go wrong?

A [typical and representative boss cop in]…Hopkinton, Massachusetts…has been charged with…child rape over [assaults] that [he committed] in 2004 and 2005…John “Jay” Porter…[repeatedly raped] a 15-year-old student…while [he was assigned to spy on, harass, and intimidate students] in the town’s school system…

The Last Shall Be First (#1332) 

Both sides in the culture war have completely taken leave of their senses:

The Florida Senate passed what opponents are calling the Florida “abduction” bill (SB 254)…[because it] would allow [legal minors] to be “kidnapped” by…parents [who oppose their receiving care for gender dysphoria] — even if the opposing parent lives across state lines…The bill would grant Florida courts temporary emergency jurisdiction over a [legal minor] present in the state if the [legal minor] has been subject to or is “threatened” with being subjected to sex-assignment prescriptions or procedures…it…would effectively let courts modify out-of-state custody agreements by allowing dissenting parents to petition courts to take [their side in the dispute]…Parents, guardians and medical providers helping minors receive gender-affirming care would be subject to criminal penalties for violating the new law…and medical providers who provide care to trans people under 18 would risk revocation of their medical licenses and could be charged with a…felony…

The Mob Rules (#1337)

This is really the only way to address ignoramus politicians’ demands for surveillance of website users:

The porn industry is warning Virginians could lose access to adult sites if Gov. Glenn Youngkin signs strict new age verification legislation currently on his desk…That’s exactly what [recently] happened…in Utah when a similar bill went into effect…Virginia’s proposed law requires sites verify users are 18, but the state does not yet offer a digital ID that companies can tap into, an adult industry trade group…issues with commercial age verification alternatives make them a no-go for the industry…”Platforms that want to comply will not be able to, but will still be liable for lawsuits for non-compliance”…said [Mike Stabile of the Free Speech Coalition]…

It isn’t just porn sites, either; Wikipedia has announced it will not comply with similar surveillance demands in the UK.

To Molest and Rape (#1337)

Cop and “church youth leader” is like the molester equivalent of a full house:

…a [South Carolina cop] arrested for [molesting teenage boys] was also a church youth leader…Erickson Douglas Lee [assaulted one boy about 30 times] between December 2020 and July 2022…at Lee’s house [after getting him drunk]…

The report is deliberately confusing, but it appears to refer to multiple adolescent male victims of various ages in their mid-teens.

 

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

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In the News (#1337)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 10, 2023| Leave a Comment »

She was looking for…content for her name and her income, and at our expense.  –  Sadie Martinez

You Were Warned (#1170)

Prohibitionists, censors and profiteers will continue to harass businesses thus until FOSTA is overturned:

The…9th Circuit has dismissed a lawsuit that accused Twitter of participating in a sex trafficking venture.  The suit—which invoked…FOSTA…was brought by two John Does and…Morality in Media…The 9th Circuit [recently]…found Reddit not guilty of sex trafficking in similar circumstances to this case…

The Widening Gyre (#1230)

Another sign that the moral panic is largely over:

…Katie Sorensen…posted a video that was viewed more than 4 million times in which she [pretend]ed that two strangers tried to grab her young children outside a store in Petaluma, California…Following the video, the accused couple, Sadie and Eddie Martinez, recognised themselves in a photo and came forward to strongly deny the claims…Sorensen was convicted of making a false report of a crime and…faces a jail sentence of between six months and one year.  Sorensen’s lawyer says that his client did not lie to the police[, but rather was just stupid and hysterical]…

You Were Warned (#1292)

These attempts to destroy the internet are just going to keep getting worse:

Congress has resurrected the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), a bill that would increase surveillance and restrict access to information [under the pretext] of protecting children online…its latest version…would still require surveillance of anyone sixteen and under…[and] put the tools of censorship in the hands of state attorneys general, and would greatly endanger the rights, and safety, of young people online.  And KOSA’s burdens will affect adults, too, who will likely face hurdles to accessing legal content online as a result of the bill…KOSA would make platforms liable for the content they show minors, full stop.  It will be based on vague requirements that any Attorney General could, more or less, make up…

The Mob Rules (#1307)

Websites targeted by a censorship bill are trying to turn the power of the mob back on politicians:

Pornhub…disabled access to its platform from all Utah IP addresses, in response to the state’s latest anti-porn law…The LDS church…considers all pornography to be a ploy by “the adversary” (i.e., Satan) specifically created to destroy Mormon families by tempting male heads of households.  In addition to cutting off access to its content for Utah-based IP addresses, Pornhub…replac[ed] its landing page for those addresses with an SFW video in which [adult performer] Cherie DeVille explains the reasons for the content restriction…

Predictably, searches for VPNs immediately surged in Utah.

The Last Shall Be First (#1322) 

The “bathroom bill” political fad is back after a three-year hiatus:

Kansas has passed what has been described as the “broadest” anti-trans bathroom bill in the United States…overturn[ing] a previous veto by governor Laura Kelly, who has continually spoken out against anti-trans legislation…the…bill…bans trans and intersex women from toilets, changing rooms and prison facilities that align with their gender, as well as…defini[ng]…a female [for purposes of the law a]s a person who produces “ova”…meaning cis women who are infertile and are unable to produce eggs [w]ould [technically be] barred from spaces…

The Mob Rules (#1323)

This is exactly what those who passed this bill wanted:

A countersuit has been filed by two of three women who were named in a [nuisance] lawsuit by a [Texas] man…who alleged they conspired to help his then-wife obtain an abortion.  [According to the]…suit…Marcus Silva…[was] emotionally abusive…to…Brittni Silva, who is now his ex-wife…He subjected her to verbal abuse and manipulative behavior…[such as] hid[ing] her car keys to prevent her from leaving their house…Brittni determined she needed a divorce…[but] continued to live [with Marcus] and in July 2022, [he] went through [her] purse and phone and discovered one of two pills used for a medication abortion.  He put the pill back into her purse, [then went through her phone to find the text messages]…to…Jackie and Amy…He filed a police report on July 18, 2022…admitting he…knew about the pregnancy before it was terminated…

To Molest and Rape (#1334)

Your “leaders” sometimes refer to child molestation as “community support”:

A [typical and representative Surrey cop] has been jailed for six years for “abhorrent” child sex offences.  William Redwood…admitted 33 charges in[volv]ing [molestation and] making…and distributing…child [porn of both]…boys and girls between the ages of 12 and 17…from 2016 to 2020…

At other times, they call it “correction”:

A[n Oregon screw] has been charged…with repeatedly molesting a child in Salem over a [recent] four-month period…Cenobio Jauregui…sexually abused a [relative] under 14 years old…five times between December…and April…

And at still other times, they call it what it is, but treat it like no big deal:

A [typical and representative Minnesota cop named]…Eric Gramentz…was sentenced…to…a…[mere] 90 days in jail, followed by 25 years of supervised probation…[in addition to the] year [he has been caged] since his arrest.  He also received a stayed sentence of 12 years…that he would likely have to serve if he violates any of the terms of his probation…[which] include attending a sex offender program and not having any unsupervised contact with any minors.  He’ll also have to register as a predatory offender…[his] victim…was [only] 11 or 12 years old [when the abuse began]…

 

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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Undead Powers

Posted in Current Events, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on April 6, 2023| 1 Comment »

Though modern people see vampires, ghouls, ghosts, zombies, and other such beings as mere characters in horror fiction or fantasy games, to our ancestors they were very real indeed.  The belief that the dead could return to harm the living was nearly universal prior to the Age of Reason, and in many parts of the world it persisted until the recent past or even the present day.  Evil people, or those believed to have practiced sorcery, were generally buried with a stake through the heart, or decapitated, or turned face-down, or buried at crossroads, or otherwise subjected to whatever measures were believed to prevent their returning from the grave.  And just to be on the safe side, measures were usually taken to ensure that the earthly forms of even the kindest, gentlest souls stayed put: it’s why funeral corteges traditionally took a circuitous route to the cemetery (to confuse the dead in case they tried to come home), and why such places have fences of wrought iron (a metal believed to be inimical to the dead) to keep their denizens safely contained.

Though they lacked the knowledge modern science has made available to us, our ancestors were no fools; they were not entirely wrong in their belief that things thought dead which are not properly laid to rest can return to haunt the living:

…lawyers seeking to move abortion medication off the market focused less on the existential question of when life begins — and more on the procedural question of when a law dies.  The lawsuit focuses on the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone, an abortion-inducing drug.  But lawyers for [forced-birth proponents are asking]…U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk — to resurrect a long-dormant law that would upend abortion access in the United States.  The Comstock Act of 1873 banned the mailing of anything related to contraception or abortion.  The contraception clauses were removed in 1971, and the law was entirely unenforced during the five-decade reign of Roe v. Wade…[but] now, with Roe off the table, anti-abortion groups want Kacsmaryk to [declare] that Comstock is good law and can be applied broadly, not just to…abortions…It’s unclear whether [the openly anti-abortion] Kacsmaryk…will take steps to revive this “zombie law”.  If he did, his ruling would apply only to the parties — the FDA and a manufacturer of mifepristone that has joined the suit — but it would open the floodgates for future litigation.  “Comstock is part of this sort of stealth strategy to ban abortion nationwide,” said David Cohen, a law professor at Drexel University. “If it’s illegal nationally to mail … anything that is related to abortion, that would make it very difficult to operate an abortion clinic or to be an abortion provider”…

And this isn’t the only such case; authoritarian “conservatives” apparently want to go from their traditional concept of the US as the Land Where Nothing Ever Changes, to one where it’s the Land Where No Governmental Construct Ever Dies:

When Gov. Ron DeSantis first proposed reviving the long-dormant Florida State Guard, he wanted 200 volunteers and a modest $5 million budget.  Then it grew to 400 members and $10 million.  Now it’s 1,500 members and a nearly $100 million budget — with police powers, helicopters, boats and, under one [politician]’s request, cellphone-hacking technology.  The proposed budget for the Florida State Guard…offers the most detailed realization of DeSantis’ vision for th[is]…WWII-era force brought back last year to s[trengthen DeSantis’ police] state…[especially troubling is the allocation of] $750,000 to contract with the Israeli company Cellebrite to…help the State Guard target [sex workers] and drug [users]…including on farms.  Cellebrite is often hired by [cop shops] because of its ability to break into iPhones…

I’m not the only person who has proposed that all laws should automatically sunset after ten years unless specific action is taken to renew them, but I think it’s unlikely that will ever happen; the Overlords would never allow possibly-useful undead laws and agencies to be disposed of by peasants with stakes and torches.

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In the News (#1326)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 1, 2023| Leave a Comment »

I’ve been told to respond, “I respectfully decline to answer”.
–  April Rogers

Welcome To Our World (January Updates)

Sows just love fantasy role-playing as sex workers in order to harm people:

[In the summer of 2020, a] young woman with long pink hair [who] claimed to be from Washington state…walked into the Chinook Center, a community space for left-wing activists in Colorado Springs…and offered to volunteer.  She…said her name was Chelsie…[and] implied…that she was a sex worker…But Chelsie’s identity was as fake as her long pink hair.  The young woman, whose real name is April Rogers, is a [cop whom]…the FBI enlisted…to infiltrate and spy on racial justice groups…The work of Rogers…is a direct offshoot of the FBI’s summer of 2020 [scheme] in Denver, where Mickey Windecker, a paid FBI informant…rose to a leadership role in the racial justice movement, and encouraged activists to become violent…Once Rogers gained trust among the activists, she tried to set up at least two young men in gun-running conspiracies.  Her tactics mirrored those of Windecker, who tried to entrap two Denver racial justice activists in crimes, including an FBI-engineered plot to assassinate Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser that went nowhere…

The Truth About “The Truth About…”

This is the first time I’ve seen a woman falsely accused of rape:

A deputy U.S. marshal was found guilty of plotting to frame his former fiancée for attempted rape of his wife.  Ian Diaz…faces as long as 20 years in prison…[because he] and his then-wife created phony email and social media accounts in the name of Jane Doe, his former fiancée, and used these to send each other messages with graphic threats to rape and kill his then-wife.  They also posted ads on Craigslist to lure men to enact “rape fantasies” with his then-wife, and when the men showed up at their condo, they called the police and claimed that Jane Doe was responsible…As a result, Jane Doe was arrested and spent almost three months in prison…Diaz…was [angry at]…Doe…[for refusing to keep quiet about the fact] that he had raped and abused her during their relationship…

Torture Chamber

This will continue until journalists stop obediently referring to senseless violence as “correction”:

A [man who] was [violently] assaulted without provocation by [Suffolk County NY screws] last year…[has filed] a $69 million lawsuit…Wilson Cantarero Lopez…had to undergo emergency surgery to save his life…on March 25, 2022, a day after the beating [was inflict]ed…[because his] large intestine was [ruptured in] the assault…while serving [a short] sentence [for violating a court order]…15…[screws crowded in]to his cell…[and] six of the[m]…beat and kicked [him for no reason other than petty sadism, then]…strapped [him] into a [torture] chair…for…90 minutes…[while he was] gagging on his blood and struggling to breathe…Cantarero Lopez was hospitalized for 10 days before he was [locked in a cage until]…May 24.  Cantarero Lopez is unable to work due to the injuries…

Crying for Nanny (#1037)

Ambulance-chasers don’t care who gets hurt as long as they make a bundle:

A federal court says that sex-trafficking lawsuits against JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank can go forward.  In three separate but similar suits, the two banks are being accused of knowingly benefiting from sex trafficking by allowing Jeffrey Epstein…to bank with them…these suits…suggest that mere allegations against someone should warrant financial institutions canceling their accounts—something…likely to hamper a person’s ability to defend themselves in court.  A society where private businesses must reject anyone accused of crimes or face criminal liability themselves is perverse, frightening, and antithetical to civil liberties…This…risks giving regulators, politicians, and private busybodies a way to shut entire industries out of legal banking systems…without having to…prove any criminal action…[profiteers] are trying to move beyond holding actual perpetrators—who tend not to have very deep pockets—accountable and instead penalize deep-pocketed third parties…[which could] prompt hotels, social media platforms, software companies, and others to reject (or call the cops on) all sorts of people…merely because they look “suspicious” or seem like they’re engaging in any sexual activity at all…

A Broker in Pillage (#1196)

Airports are among cops’ favorite places to lurk in order to rob people:

The trucker who had $39,500 [stol]en by police in August 2020 at Sky Harbor Airport has finally gotten his money back.  Jerry Johnson had traveled to [Phoenix] with a large amount of cash to [bu]y…a truck he needed for his business.  But Phoenix police s[tole] his money before he could get to the auction, [belch]ing…[out the magic words] “drug courier” [in order to sanctify their crime]…Johnson has spent the last couple of years fighting the [robbery] in court and his lawyers said he’s recently gotten back his money….The Institute for Justice represented…him…

The Punitive Mindset (#1294) 

This evil fascist scheme needs to be eradicated, root and branch:

A new lawsuit is challenging a California county jail’s policy of digitizing and then destroying all physical mail received by incarcerated people—part of a national trend of prisons and jails restricting inmates’ ability to receive physical mail.  The lawsuit…by Columbia University’s Knight First Amendment Institute, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), and the Social Justice Legal Foundation, argues that [any]…ban on physical mail “violates the expressive, associational, privacy, and religious rights of the individuals in its jails, including those presumed innocent, and of the many individuals who send mail to those incarcerated people”…[these policies are pretended to] reduc[e] contraband…[but] the overwhelming majority is smuggled in by staff…[and] depriving inmates of a vital source of comfort and connection to the outside world [actually increases drug problems]…”Following statewide adoption of MailGuard in Pennsylvania, the drug test positivity rate actually increased,” the lawsuit says…”[in] Missouri…the [average] number of…overdoses…increased from thirty-one to thirty-seven per month.  And in New Mexico…the drug test positivity rate nearly doubled”…

To Molest and Rape (#1312)

Always the fixation on the magical clown costume:

[A] Wichita [Kansas cop named]…Brock England [was arrested in Oklahoma for]…sexual[ly] abus[ing]…a child younger than 12…England has been [rewarded with a paid vacation]…

 

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

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In the News (#1323)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 22, 2023| 1 Comment »

From a legal perspective, [fetal personhood] is, quite frankly, bonkers.  –  Elizabeth N. Brown

Rescued To Death

The “Swedish model” helps women!

Police raided 11 [shared incall]s…in studio apartments in…Tel Aviv…[evict]ing some 20 women…Tel Aviv’s Welfare Department…only got an hour’s forewarning…[and] organizations aiding prostitutes were not informed at all…one [sex worker]…told Haaretz…“They wouldn’t let me change. They came in with cameras and large forces and told me to get lost in 10 minutes…We have no way to make ends meet this month”…Romi Levy of the Argaman organization [said]…“Women who have committed no crime were depicted…as wanted criminals…Women aged 30-60 were thrown out on the street with their belongings, crying and shouting for help, which I’m sad to say won’t be forthcoming”…

If Men Were Angels

This will never stop as long as people teach kids unquestioning obedience to “authority”:  “The minister of a church in [Ohio]…has been arrested…[on] multiple criminal charges…of the sexual abuse of minors.  Dennis Laferty…is pastor at Thompson United Methodist Church…”

The Mob Rules (#1198)

Unless this batshittery is declared unconstitutional, things will keep getting worse:

A Texas man is suing three women under the wrongful death statute, alleging that they assisted his ex-wife in terminating her pregnancy…Marcus Silva is represented by [two politicians:] Jonathan Mitchell…architect of the state’s prohibition on abortions…and state Rep. Briscoe Cain…[the] ex-wife learned she was pregnant in July 2022, t[wo] month[s] after [s]he [had filed for divorce]…and [wisely decided]…to…terminate the pregnancy [lest the husband weaponize it in the divorce]…The friends…sen[t] her information about Aid Access, an international group that provides abortion-inducing medication through the mail…they [later] found a way to acquire the medication in Houston…A third woman delivered the medication…and…the wife self-managed an abortion at home…The lawsuit relies heavily on screenshots from a [private] group chat the ex-wife had with [her] two friends…

Choke Point (#1275) 

The word “pause” means a temporary stop:

Just weeks ago, gun control advocates were doing happy dances as credit card companies prepared to implement a new merchant category code…that would ease the way…for tracking gun purchases.  Now, under public pressure, financial institutions are backing away from those codes…It’s an illustration of how…politicized business has become, and how difficult it is for private companies to navigate between the country’s political tribes…

Panopticon (#1295)

Forcing the government back from establishing a very dangerous precedent:

…the Department of Commerce and the…NOAA…[demanded] in 2020…[that] charter-boat captains…install—at their own expense—onboard monitoring systems that regularly relayed their boats’ GPS locations to the government.  A group of…captains…sued, saying the rule violated rights to due process, privacy, and freedom of movement…Now a federal court has sided with the captains:  installation of a [monitoring] device would cost $3,000, with an additional $40 to $75 per month in service fees…charter-boat owners…primarily operate small businesses, with roughly $26,000 per year in net income…in addition…the regulation imposes a massive privacy cost; demanding that charter-boat owners transmit their exact location to the Government, every hour of every day forever…

The Vultures Descend (#1319)

The predictable result of “fetal personhood” snake oil:

South Carolina [politician]s are proposing…to…defin[e] personhood to begin at fertilization…[even though] the majority of fertilized eggs do not go on to become viable pregnancies…Legally defining personhood as beginning at conception creates all sorts of thorny issues, from the serious (should the state start investigating all miscarriages as potential homicides?) to the odd (can a pregnant woman legally drive in a carpool lane?)…fetal personhood laws have been considered in a number of states and passed in five (Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas and Missouri).  And implicit in this concept is the idea that all laws…would equally apply to all “unborn persons”…South Carolina’s proposed Prenatal Equal Protection Act would…amend the sections of the state code related to murder and assault to say that…women who get abortions could be charged with homicide, and women who injure a fetus in some way could be charged with assault…It’s the type of laws that could lead to increased surveillance, restrictions on, and criminalization of pregnant women across the board…

To Molest and Rape (#1322)

Cops view alcoholism as a way to coerce sex from those suffering from it:

A [Florida cop] has been fired for [coerc]ing an…a[lcoholic] woman…in[to sex]…Patrick Monteith…manipulated [his victim, who]…was scared to report [the rapes] to the police or [even tell him no]…”because of his position as an officer”…Monteith [characteriz]ed [the abusive] relationship [as]…a friendship…

 

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

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In the News (#1322)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 18, 2023| 1 Comment »

The Nordic model has a stronger effect on increasing rape than criminalization does.  –  Huasheng Gao and Vanya Petrova

Full of Themselves (#755)

How pompously puritanical need one be to believe that consensual sex constitutes “a dangerous criminal record”?

…in Illinois, a dangerous criminal record may not stop people from becoming licensed massage therapists…A conviction of sexual misconduct, prostitution, rape, or any other offense requiring registration as a sex offender automatically bars an applicant from obtaining a massage therapist license.  But this is not the case for first-degree murder, armed robbery, aggravated battery…assault, stalking…and kidnapping…so [politicians want even more]…regulations for massage therapy license applicants…

Capricious Lusts (#788)

Another study shows what’s already been shown over & over again:

Liberalizing prostitution laws “leads to a significant decrease in rape rates,” according to a study published in The Journal of Law and Economics, “while prohibiting it leads to a significant increase”…researchers Huasheng Gao and Vanya Petrova of China’s Fudan University looked at data from 31 European countries, spanning a period between 1990 and 2017.  During this time period, eight countries (Spain, Denmark, Hungary, the Netherlands, Germany, Slovenia, Latvia, and Romania) liberalized their prostitution laws while six countries (Sweden, Croatia, Norway, Iceland, France, and Ireland) cracked down on prostitution…liberalizing…was linked to a significant decrease in rape rates, while prohibition was linked to a significant increase—but…”the magnitude of prohibiting commercial sex is about four times as large as that of liberalizing it”…The average rape rate in the sample countries was nine rapes per 100,000 people.  Countries that liberalized prostitution laws saw a decrease of approximately three rapes per 100,000…[while] countries that…further criminalized…saw an increase of around 11 rapes per 100,000…

A Moral Cancer (#991)

Prohibitionists always claim surprise when the predicted effects of one of their bans appear:

[Since] Massachusetts became the first state…to ban the sale of all flavored tobacco and nicotine products…four additional states have…imposed…similar policies…but the latest data from Massachusetts highlight the ban’s [predict]ed consequences [coming to pass]…As opponents of the flavor ban predicted, the law has incentivized black market sales of menthol cigarettes and flavored e-cigarettes…Revenue officials are s[teal]ing so many [smuggled] products, in fact, that they are running out of room to store them…tobacco tax revenue has fallen by approximately 22.6 percent over three years…[and] the decline in cigarette sales in Massachusetts coincided with substantial increases in sales in counties bordering the state…

To Molest and Rape (#1225)

This is a cop’s idea of “friendship”:

New Mexico [cop] Kevin Keiner [was rewarded with a paid vacation for]…raping a…woman [who foolishly believed he was her friend]…the woman…called…Keiner…to pick her up…after she’d gotten into a…[drunken] argument with her brother and another woman…Keiner [was wearing his magical clown costume when]…he picked the woman up [in his pigmobile] and took her to his home…The woman…blacked out….[and] the next thing she remembers is that Keiner was on top of her….Keiner [is of course claiming she wanted it and came onto him]…

Torture Chamber (#1287)

The government needs to be buried in lawsuits before this will stop:

[Young people] detained [without having been convicted of any crime] at the Baltimore County Detention Center are locked up for 23 hours a day in rat-infested cells that sometimes flood with sewage water…The jail is [refusing to] comply…with federal laws governing juvenile detention, said Deborah St. Jean, director of the public defender’s Juvenile Protection Division.  She asked for the “immediate transfer” of detained youth to the Department of Juvenile Services…

The Mob Rules (#1311)

The primary principle governing politicians’ behavior is “monkey see, monkey do”:

…a bill that would require Arkansans to provide identification to use social media sites…is [being] sponsored by [a politician named] Tyler Dees…who [also] has another bill that…would require pornography websites to provide age verification…Th[e first] bill, seemingly modeled on one that recently passed in Utah, would open up the social media companies to civil and criminal penalties…

The Last Shall Be First (#1317) 

“Bathroom bills” are back after blessedly vanishing for over three years:

A bill that would criminalize transgender people using restrooms that match their gender identity won initial approval in the Arkansas Legislature…The bill…would allow someone to be charged with misdemeanor sexual indecency with a child if they use a public restroom or changing room “of the opposite sex while knowing a minor of the opposite sex is present”…The legislation goes even further than a North Carolina bathroom law that was enacted in 2016 and later repealed following widespread boycotts and protests.  That law did not include any criminal penalties…

 

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

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In the News (#1320)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 11, 2023| 1 Comment »

[The SAFE TECH Act] takes nearly every single idea that people who want there to be less speech online have had, and dumped it all into one bill.  –  Mike Masnick

If Men Were Angels

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

Gary Buckaloo…[has been] charged with…[repeated] sex[ual] abuse of a child…under 14…Buckaloo is listed as [something called] a Life Skills teacher [in] Buffalo [Texas]…and…is…also…the Youth Pastor and Worship Leader for First Baptist Church Normangee…

Choke Point (#629) 

“Abortion…will be vulnerable…if a different administration adopts this same thuggish approach toward the businesses that it dislikes”:

…Texas [politician]…Drew Spring [has] proposed a bill…that would make it a felony for credit card companies to “process a transaction” for abortion pills sales…[and] allow any citizen to sue a credit card company for allowing that sale to happen…[meanwhile, politician] Steve Toth introduced a bill that [demands] internet service providers [illegally censor]…”information…intended to assist or facilitate efforts to obtain an elective abortion or an abortion-inducing drug”…

You Were Warned (#1131)

You can’t keep a bad bill down:

…This year’s SAFE TECH Act is a redux of a bill first introduced in 2021.  That version—which Techdirt Editor in Chief Mike Masnick called “a dumpster fire of cluelessness” — failed to go anywhere (thank goodness).  But now the SAFE TECH Act is back…[for] yet another stab at undermining Section 230…The first change [it]…would make is to…open up a huge range of tech companies to more liability.  Blogging platforms like WordPress and newsletter and podcast distributors like Substack would be vulnerable, as would any social media platform that provides a paid tier level…[and] all sorts of web hosting services—creating huge incentives for providers to cut off…access to any person or group even slightly controversial…the bill [also encourages lawsuits against] content likely to cause “irreparable harm”…a vague phrase that could open a floodgate of lawsuits over anything…objectionable on social media…particularly speech that is unflattering to the rich and powerful…this…is a dangerous bill that would have far-reaching consequences for content creators, activists, people exposing police violence, whistleblowers, citizen journalists, and basically anyone who uses the internet…

The Clueless Leading the Hysterical (#1285)

It was only a matter of time before cops tried to combine their fentanyl hysteria with panicmongering over edibles:

Three days after the Montgomery County District Attorney stood behind a podium and held up packages of THC gummies that he [claimed] contained heroin and fentanyl, his office [had to admit that] lab tests [proved that to be a flagrant lie]…DA Kevin Steele announced an investigation into THC gummies after two people purportedly overdosed after eating them…Steele [was forced to admit]…that his [publicity stunt]…was based on testing done with a [notoriously unreliable] portable device [of the sort typically used by cops to generate false “probable cause” in order to arrest people]…The gummies in question contain legal byproducts of hemp that are increasingly popular for recreational use…[despite] low…potency…[cops and other prohibitionists keep babbling about overdoses and “children” despite there being no known LD50 for THC]…Around Halloween, officials [tried to drum up panic] about so-called rainbow fentanyl, colorful fentanyl pills purportedly marketed to children, that [were of course proven completely bogus]…

To Molest and Rape (#1303)

In the UK, “disciplinary action” can mean telling rapists to “think about what they did wrong”:

Nearly 80 [cops] in 22 [cop shops] in England and Wales have faced disciplinary action for [raping, sexually assaulting, molesting] or s[talking]…victims, witnesses and suspects since 2018…the majority of those facing disciplinary action…resigned before they were [sack]ed.  However, 10…remained in their jobs, facing lesser sanctions such as [stern words from superiors.  Only]…two faced criminal proceedings.  Nearly all of the offending officers were men, and all but two of the victims female…

To Molest and Rape (#1312)

The lengths to which spokespigs and their media lackeys will go to imply that rapist cops aren’t typical and representative specimens of their predatory breed are increasingly absurd.  This story from Puyallup, WA (not far south of Seattle) contains almost no actual information, such as the name or picture of the rapist; it does, however, include at least four distancing maneuvers.  The rapist “was still in training and had never worked alone as a police officer”; he was “off duty”; the rape was only “third degree”, implying less serious; and roughly half of the sketchy story is taken up with pompous oinking by the boss pig about how the rapists’ actions are “not representative” of cops, when it should be clear by now (to anyone whose mind isn’t completely rotted by copaganda) that such actions are most certainly representative.

The Widening Gyre (#1313)

It’s nice to see a journalist getting it for once:

[Disguised San Francisco cop] have recently been [fantasy role-play]ing as sex workers and [claim] they’ve busted 30 “johns” in a pointless exercise on Capp Street, in an ongoing effort to crack down on solicitation on that Mission District alley.  One sex worker already told a local TV station what would likely happen if SF police continued cracking down on the sex trade on Capp Street, which dates back decades: The sex workers will just shift over to another nearby street…

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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